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 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 IT has long been the opinion of the editor 
 of this volume, that the noblest employment of 
 the mind of man is the contemplating the works 
 of his Creator ; these living testimonies of the 
 being and attributes of God have also ever ap- 
 peared to him infinitely superior to the best 
 arguments that the understanding of man has 
 been able to advance. 
 
 To lead, especially, the youthful mind, to 
 this happy turn of observation, has been his 
 object in the arrangement of these pages; and 
 he trusts that the familiar and comprehensive 
 delineations of Nature, which he has endea- 
 voured to give, will be found not only calcu- 
 lated for the improvement and extension of 
 knowledge, but shew to the reader, that in 
 every object in nature there are ample traces 
 of the wisdom, power, and bounty of the Cre- 
 ator, and convince him, that even the vilest 
 weed and the meanest insect offer incontestable 
 evidences of their Maker, 
 
IV. ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Such being the object of the editor in ar- 
 ranging this work, he leaves it to a liberal and 
 enlightened public to appreciate his labours, 
 and by their patronage give circulation to what 
 he conceives may be beneficial in forming the 
 mind to piety and just views of things. 
 
 CHELSEA, October, 1820. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Air, weight of, - 163 
 
 elasticity and resistance of, 164 
 
 how cleansed, - 170 
 
 Alternate succession of day and night, benefits . 
 
 resulting therefrom, - 18? 
 
 Animals, their construction and properties, - 38 
 
 diversity of bulk, taste and habit of, 40 
 
 . prodigious numbers of, . ib. 
 
 instincts of, - 47 
 
 provision for keeping their numbers 
 
 within due limits, ib. 
 
 of the graminivorous kind, 4y 
 
 of the weasel kind, - 50 
 
 varieties of, - - 56 
 
 divisions into classes, orders, &c. ib. 
 
 Animal Flowers, - 125 
 
 Atmosphere, - 158, 
 
 extent of, - - 164 
 
 -its use, 165 
 
 great thoroughfare to the feathery 
 
 creation, . - - 170 
 
 phenomena of, - - X72 
 
 Atmospheric phenomena, meteors, &c. uses of, 178 
 
 Beavers, their wonderful foresight, &c. - 52 
 
 Birds, their structure, appetites, &c. 63 
 
 amazing strength of their wings, 65 
 
 A2 
 
Vi. CONTENTS. * 
 
 Birds, admirable structure of their nests, 
 
 peculiarities as to food, make, Sec, 
 
 " migration of, 
 
 various situations oi their nests, - 
 
 Bismuth, 
 
 Camels,* 
 
 Celestial appearances, - - 
 
 Chick in the egg, description of, 
 
 Clay, its importance and usefulness, 
 
 Coal, Chalk, Cinnabar, &c. 
 
 Cod fish, incalculable number of, 
 
 Comets, their number, motion, &e. 
 
 purposes for which created, 
 
 Connecting links in nature, 
 
 Copper and Tin, 
 
 Corn, construction and vegetation of, 
 
 Crustaceous tribe, instinctive sagacity of, 
 
 Design of this work, 
 
 Dew. nature of, and benefits derived from, 
 
 Dog, affectionate tenderness of, 
 
 Shepherd's and Newfoundland, 
 
 Earth, form or shape of, 
 
 structure of the, -- 
 
 spherity of the, 
 
 surface of, its inequalities, &c. 
 
 verdant colour of the, 
 
 two -fold motion of the, - 
 
 Earth worm, ... 
 
 Electric fluid and its effects, 
 
CONTENTS. VII, 
 
 Electricity? a most powerful agent in nature, . 180 
 
 Emu, its great swiftness, 64 
 
 Fall ot the leaf, observations on, 270 
 
 Fishes, - 140 
 
 structure of, 142 
 
 . immense number of, - 145 
 
 construction of, 147 
 
 instincts of, - 150 
 
 sagacity of, in depositing their spawn, 131 
 
 migration of, - 152 
 
 uses of, 153 
 
 how they contribute to the comforts of man, 155 
 
 Fixed stars, their beauty and number, 209 
 
 why so called, - 212 
 
 their distance from the earth, 214 
 
 their uses, 215 
 
 Flowers, their exquisite structure, - 28 
 
 their variety and fragrance. - 29 
 
 purposes for which they were designed, 35 
 
 Fogs, Mists, Clouds, and Rain, salutary effects of, 181 
 
 Fruit, reflections on, 260 
 
 Frost and Snow, uses of, in the economy of nature, 182 
 
 Goats, their remarkable agility, &c. 50 
 
 Harvest moon described, - 191 
 
 Herbs, use and importance of, 32 
 
 Herrings, Cod fish, Mackerel &e. prolific powers of, 146 
 
 their immense numbers, - 155 
 
 observations on the natural history of, 261 
 
 Insects, most numerous of nature's productions, 81 
 
 beauty and symmetry of some, - 8 
 
Vlll. CONTENTS. 
 
 Insects, peculiarities in this order of beings, - 84 
 
 their strength and agility, - 87 
 
 their wonderful transformations, ib. 
 
 their surprising instinct, - 89 
 
 their uses, 90 
 
 Instincts of the Monkey, the Cat, and the Hare, 52 
 
 the Lion, Bear, Porcupine, Horse &c. 53 
 
 Iron, its usefulness and importance, 8 
 
 Jewels and Gems, - 10 
 
 Kraken, its immense size, - 141 
 
 Lama of South America, - 50 
 Land Crab, its instinctive qualities, - 134 
 Lead, 8 
 Limpet, how protected, 128 
 Loadstone* its importance, - 118 
 Lobster, justly styled wondrous, - 127 
 young, its instinctive habits, 133 
 
 Man, intellectual pre-eminence of, - 3 
 
 Marble, Alabaster, Flint, &c. - 10 
 
 Metals, their nature and importance, 8. 
 
 Meteors, fiery, the use of, - 180 
 
 Meteors, watery, - 176 
 
 Mineral kingdom, treasures of the, 7 
 
 Mineral Salts, 9 
 
 Mineral and medicinal Waters, 20 
 
 Milky way described, 211 
 
 Moon, her phases, &c. - - 189 
 
 eclipses of, - 190 
 
 her salutary influences enumerated, - 193 
 
CONTENTS. IX. 
 
 Mother-of-pearl, mode of fishing for, 138 
 
 Motion, the soul of the universe, - 173 
 
 Mountains and Vallies, 16 
 
 their use, 18 
 
 Muscle, Cockle, Periwinkle, Nautilus, &c. 129 
 
 Natural objects, classification of, 1 
 
 Natural appearances in January, - 221 
 
 February, - 224 
 
 March, 232 
 
 April, 235 
 
 . May, - - 240 
 
 June, 244 
 
 July, - - 249 
 
 *,_ August, - 54 
 
 September, - 257 
 
 , October, - 265 
 
 November, 268 
 
 December, 272 
 
 Northern and southern lights, how formed, 179 
 
 Ocean, its magnificence, - 98 
 
 murmur of the, its use, - 112 
 
 usefulness of the luminous appearances of, ib. 
 
 the uses of, ' - 115 
 
 the great vehicle of commerce, 116 
 
 benefits derived from this wonderful fluid, 118 
 
 Oran Outang, or wild Man of the Woods, - 50 
 Ostrich, Emu, and Cassowary, remarkable size of, 63 
 its swiftness, - 64 
 
 Pilchards, vast shoals of, - 155 
 
 Planets, their magnitudes and motions, - 199 
 
 Plains, wide and extended, their uses, - 21 
 
X. CONTENTS. 
 
 Plants, sexual system of, 27 
 
 - sleep of, ib. 
 
 Quadrupeds, their conformation, - 48 
 
 -- their remarkable instincts, 51 
 
 -- their uses, 53 
 
 Quicksilver, its uses, &c. - 8 
 
 Rainbow, beauty of, - - 177 
 
 Religion, a sense of, the peculiar characteristic 
 
 of man, 4 
 
 Reptiles, their structure, &c. - 91 
 -- their motion, - -92 
 
 - their use, - 97 
 
 substances and sulphureous bodies', * 9 
 
 Sea, its vast extent and bounds, 99 
 
 a source of fertility to the land, 103 
 
 a purifier and restorer of nature, - - 104 
 -- currents of the, 105 
 
 contains the greatest quantity of salt in the 
 torrid zone, - - ib. 
 
 - saltness of, how beneficial, 109 
 
 colour of, deception relative thereto, - 1 14 
 
 - vegetable productions found at the bottom of, 119 
 
 - vegetables, the use of, - 123 
 Sea-horse of the northern ocean, 50 
 Sea-tortoise, its instinctive sagacity, - - 132 
 Seasons, changes of the, and vicissitudes of day 
 
 and night, how produced, - 183, 185 
 
 --- beneficial effects in the changes of the, 186 
 
 Serpents, some peculiarities relative to, 93 
 
 -- their poison, &c. 94 
 
 i -- : - wonderful sagacity of, 96 
 
CONTENTS. XL 
 
 Shell-fish, - 127 
 
 their uses, 137 
 
 Shrubs, - ^ - 31 
 
 Silver, Copper, Tin, &c. - 8 
 
 Solar System, - 198 
 
 Soldier crab, peculiarities of, 133 
 
 Spring, influence of, on man, ... 238 
 
 reflections on, 237 
 
 Springs and rivers, - 18 
 
 Stones and fossils, - 10 
 
 Sun, the, - 193 
 
 the great fountain of light and heat, - 194 
 
 the fountain of cheerfulness, - 196 
 its magnitude and motion, 198 
 
 Tellina, Scallop, Razor shell-fish, &c. peculiari- 
 ties relative thereto, - - 136 
 Thunder storms, their nature and influence, 252 
 Tides, where greatest, - - 105 
 flux and reflux of, 107 
 
 Vegetables, variety of, 23 
 
 their use and importance, - 24 
 
 structure of, - ib. 
 
 sub-marine, striking peculiarities in, 122 
 
 Vegetable kingdom, properties and peculiarities of, 27 
 
 Volatiles, their use, - 75 
 
 Waterspouts, of two kinds, - 109 
 
 description of one in the atlantic 
 
 ocean, - - - 111 
 
 Whales, their immense size, - 140 
 
 fidelity of to each other, - 155 
 
 Whirlpools, - 107 
 
Xll. CONTENTS. 
 
 Wind, description of, 172 
 
 influence of on the ocean, - - 106 
 
 Winter in the polar regions, 226 
 
 sowing time, - - 267 
 
 - ' beginning of, . - - 271 
 
 advantages of, - - - 257 
 
 Wonders of the north, - 229 
 
THE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 INTROD VCTION. 
 
 EVERY page of the volume of Nature is fraught 
 with instruction. Not only do the canopy of the 
 heavens, and the luminous orbs which bedeck the 
 glowing hemisphere on a clear frosty evening, de- 
 clare the glory of the Supreme, but the whole of 
 created existences, however insignificant, simple, or 
 minute they may appear, plainly evince to the con- 
 templative mind the wisdom and power of the Crea- 
 tor; and shew that 
 
 All Nature is a glass reflecting God, 
 
 As by the Sea reflected is the Sun, 
 
 Too glorious to be gaz'd on in his sphere. 
 
 Natural objects, for the purpose of classification, 
 have been in general arranged under the three 
 grand divisions of animal, vegetable, and mineral, 
 each of which will admit of many lesser subdivisions, 
 
2 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 about which we mean not here to treat. One ob- 
 servation, however, upon a general view of the 
 whole, as it cannot fail in time to present itself to 
 every person who engages in this study, may here 
 be introduced: it is, that however easy it may seem, 
 at the first glance, to discriminate the three classes 
 of objects from each other, yet every class of natural 
 objects will be found to approach so nearly in the 
 extreme of other classes, that it is a matter of diffi- 
 culty to say with precision where the one ends, and 
 the other begins. The whole are so closely con- 
 nected, like the links of a chain, that there is no 
 possibility of finding a disjunction in any part. 
 Among animated beings, bats are the connecting 
 link between beasts and birds: the numerous class 
 of amphibia conjoin beasts and fishes; and lizards 
 unite them with reptiles The humming-bird ap- 
 proaches the nature of insects, and the flying-fish 
 that of birds The polypus, the sea anemony, and 
 the sea pen, though of animal origin, have more the 
 habits of vegetables than of animals; while the 
 fly-trap, the sensitive plant, and some other vegeta- 
 ble productions, by their spontaneous movements, 
 or extreme sensibility, seem to participate more of 
 animal origin. Corals and corallines, from the dif- 
 ferent forms they assume, may be more easily mis- 
 taken for mineral or vegetable than animal produc- 
 tions, to which class they are now referred, by the 
 unanimous decision of naturalists. The trufle, though 
 a vegetable, assumes rather the appearance of a 
 mineral; and there is reason to believe that the 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 anomalous substance called peat is actually a 
 vegetable rather than an earthy or mineral sub- 
 stance, as it has been often supposed. 
 
 Nor is it with regard to corporeal forms only, and 
 peculiarities of organization, that this disjointed con- 
 nection subsists between the different objects which 
 inhabit the globe: the same concatenation is observ- 
 ed to take place respecting mind, beginning with 
 man, who forms the highest link of the chain, and 
 descending from him by an almost imperceptible 
 dimunition of mental powers, through an innumera- 
 ble series of existences, till it ends at last in mere 
 animation alone, with a seeming privation of all 
 mental perception whatever. It is indeed true, that 
 though, in regard to intellect, some of the higher 
 order of animals appear, in certain points of vievv^ 
 to approximate to the lowest of the human species, 
 yet there can be no doubt that man is much farther 
 exalted above them all, than any one of these excels 
 the next below it; so that if there be any break in 
 the chain at all, it is here that the rupture takes 
 place. For though many of the higher orders of 
 animals possess a kind of memory, and the faculty 
 of reasoning in a certain degree; though u the ox 
 knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib," 
 yet, unless it be in recollecting their dependence on 
 others for food, and a few circumstances of a similar 
 nature, tending chiefly to the preservation of ex- 
 istence, the intellectual powers of even the highest 
 order of animals are extremely circumscribed Man 
 alone can reason from consequences to remote causes, 
 
4 BOOK OF NATURE LAID 
 
 and can from the creature trace an idea of the 
 Creator. A sense of religion, then, is the charac- 
 teristic peculiarity which decisively marks a separa- 
 tion between man and all other animals. 
 
 In the view we are about to take of Nature, then, 
 it shall be our chief aim, while we expatiate on the 
 wonderful variety it presents in each department, to 
 endeavour to establish and strengthen this pre-emi- 
 nent characteristic of our species, and counteract 
 that tendency to infidelity which has of late, by the 
 labours of the wicked and designing, been rendered 
 too prevalent. 
 
 Indeed the contemplation of the works of Nature 
 invariably leads to a consideration of the attributes of 
 the Creator. The subject is so replete with digni- 
 fied feelings, that w r e cannot help being surprised 
 that atheism should ever have had a teacher or a 
 convert. These infatuated men attempt to make 
 every thing subservient to their leasonings, and they 
 are unwilling to acknowledge that a superior mind 
 can have created the wonders around them. Their 
 favourite arguments against the intervention of Pro- 
 vidence lie in a reference to physical and moral 
 evils; such as pestilence, tempests, volcanoes, and 
 death. They have no pleasure in contemplating the 
 beneficent part of the works of Nature ; show them 
 a flower, and they will point out the worm which 
 consumes its bosom. It is by dwelling on scenes of 
 waste that they seek to make us converts to their 
 doctrine of annihilation; it is by making us bend 
 under the pressure of the evils of life, that they 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 5 
 
 expect to bring us to renounce the hope of eternity. 
 To minds thus perverted, all that excites sorrow 
 among mankind affords a ground of triumph; even 
 when living in the country, they shut their eyes to 
 the plentiful harvest that waves around them, to the 
 beautiful sky over their heads, and to the benefkent 
 effects of the orb of day. Let us not lend an ear to 
 those gloomy reasoners, who, while they are ad- 
 mitted to the enjoyment of so many blessings, 
 refuse to trace them to their Divine Author Their 
 theories are contradicted by the concurrent voice of 
 every people; the most uncivilized nations are im- 
 pressed with a belief of *he existence of a Creator, 
 and are accustomed to contemplate him in his 
 works Hardly had our world risen out of chaos, 
 hardly had our ancestors been admitted to the en- 
 joyment of light and life, when their thoughts were 
 directed with gratitude to the throne of their Maker. 
 Their mode of worship was in the beginning as 
 simple as the nature that surrounded them; but the 
 first application of their progress in art and science 
 was to give dignity and splendour to their adoration. 
 Temples were constructed with magnificence, and 
 assembled tribes repeated there the hallowed verses 
 taught to them by their fathers. 
 
 That man does not receive instruction from the 
 creatures of God is not their fault, but his own. 
 Their language is not dull and languid, but loud and 
 incessant; while he, alas! remains deaf to the re- 
 iterated cries o f> nature; and although 4< day unto 
 day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth 
 
 B 2 
 
6 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 knowledge," he continues to post on in his career, 
 without once reflecting on the importance of Na- 
 ture's universal call to 
 
 Stand still, and consider the wonderous works of God. 
 
 The task, therefore, be ours, in this work, to di- 
 rect the attention of our fellow-travellers in the 
 journey of life to this universal call of Nature, and 
 by pointing out a few striking passages in the stu- 
 pendous volume of the Creator's works, endeavour, 
 while we instruct, to excite their adoration, love, 
 and gratitude to HIM who gave them being, and has 
 so abundantly provided for all their wants. 
 
 But where, in the midst of the multiplicity of na- 
 ture's works shall we begin? From what spot of 
 this prospect shall we set out? Struck with the 
 vastness of our task, we stand, as it were, in the 
 Temple of the Universe, insensible to every thing 
 but our own insignificance; we know not scarcely 
 how to commence our labours, so prolific of instruc- 
 tion, and so attractive is every page of this vast 
 volume; for when we look around us, every object, 
 whether in the form of things animate or inani- 
 mate, existing in the heavens or on the earth, in 
 the waters or in the air, conspire with one accord 
 to arrest our attention, and to point out the almighty 
 power of the Supreme, his consummate wisdom, 
 and the infinitude of his goodness to the children of 
 men. As the traveller, however, in setting out on a 
 voyage of discovery takes his departure from his na- 
 tive land, and should, at least, before visiting regions 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 7 
 
 more remote, first make himself a little acquainted 
 with those nigh home, we shall, previous to extend- 
 ing our researches to more distant bounds, first in- 
 dulge ourselves with a cursory glance at the lowest 
 compartment of the vast edifice, by taking a view of 
 the internal structure of our globe, and see what 
 commodities there present themselves for our use 
 and accommodation. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH. 
 
 Thus in thy world material, MIGHTY MIND, 
 Not only that which solaces and shines, 
 The rough, the gloomy, challenges our praise ! 
 
 The treasures of the mineral kingdom, being 
 more concealed, are not so alluring to the senses 
 and are of course, to most men, less interesting than 
 animals or vegetables; but they present themselves 
 to the reflecting mind under innumerable points of 
 view that are interesting, chiefly as affording the ma- 
 terials on which nature, by her slow but certain 
 operations, is continually producing changes that 
 tend to augment the multiplication of plants, for the 
 preservation and the accommodation of animals; 
 while man, in the mean while, is endowed with fa- 
 culties which enable him to avail himself of the 
 qualities they possess for his own purposes. 
 
O BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 When we penetrate the dark and subterraneous 
 magazine of Nature, v\e find veins fraught with the 
 richest Metals; from hence conies that which gives 
 value to the monarch's crown, and weight to his 
 sceptre ; which, formed into coins, gives energ} and 
 life to traffic, rewards the toils of labour, and puts it 
 in the power of the affluent to warm the bosom oi ad- 
 versity, and make the widow and the orphan sing 
 for joy, or, beaten out into an inconceivable thin- 
 ness, is made to cover with a transcendant lustre 
 some of the coarest of nature's productions, and ren- 
 der them ornamental in the palace of the great. 
 
 Here also is laid up the pale brightness of the 
 Silver, which, formed into a variety of domestic uten- 
 sils, sets off with peculiar lustre the choicest dainties 
 of the rich man's table; and here is found the pon- 
 derous Lead, from which the cool and clean cistern 
 is formed, as well as those convenient and safe 
 aqueducts, by which the useful element of water is 
 conveyed into the very hearts of our dwellings. 
 Here too are stores of Copper and Tin, by which 
 sundry utensils, formed of the former metal, are 
 rendered more safe and fit for use: and here do we 
 find in profuse abundance Mines, whose contents, 
 although they may not be reckoned of equal value, 
 have been found to b^ more beneficial in their ser- 
 vices to man, th:in any of those already mentioned. 
 Iron furnishes the mechanic, the artist, and the la- 
 bourer with their most useful implements and tools; 
 by Iron the firmer is enabled to tear up the most 
 stubborn soil; Iron secures our dwellings from the 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. <) 
 
 midnight thief, and confines, by its massy bars, the 
 disturber of our peace to his gloomy cell ; by means 
 of Iron, the vessel tossed with tempest is firmly at- 
 tached to a place of safety, or prevented from being 
 broken up by the raging elements, when overtaken 
 by a storm in the midst of the watery waste. 
 
 In these dark vaults are also found that subtle, 
 insinuating metal, Quicksilver, which so much re- 
 sembles a fluid ; the uses of which in philosophy 
 and medicine, are so well known, as well as its im- 
 portance in various arts and sciences. 
 
 From hence, also, are extracted a multitude of 
 Mineral Salts and Saline Substances, together with 
 a variety of Sulphureous bodies. The astringent 
 Alum, the green Borax, the volatile Nitre, the blue 
 Vitrol of Hungary and Cyprus, the green of Ger- 
 many and Italy, the shining Bismuth, the glittering 
 Antimony, the brown-coloured Cinnabar, the white 
 Chalk, have all an origin in these dark apartments ; 
 as also that truly invaluable black inflammatory sub- 
 stance Coal, which ministers to our comfort in the 
 room, presents its services in the kitchen, assists the 
 chemist and philosopher in their experiments, ren- 
 ders the work of the artist more easy, transforms 
 the coarest materials into transparency itself, by 
 which means the light of day is admitted into our 
 dwellings, while the cold inclemency of the weather, 
 is excluded the astronomer is enabled to extend 
 his researches to worlds before invisible to mortal 
 eye the naturalist to observe the minutiae of crea- 
 tion and the feeble ejes 01 old age furnished with 
 
10 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEX. 
 
 new and invigorating powers. From hence also is 
 derived that wonderful mineral, whose magnetic 
 quality guides the mariner, with unerring precision, 
 beyond the pillars of Hercules, and enables him to 
 find his solitary way across the pathless deep. 
 
 Here also in these dark recesses are conveniently 
 laid up, a variety of strata of Stones, and beds of 
 Fossils ; and hence derive their origin a number of 
 valuable Jewels and transparent Gems, as well as 
 the firm and compact Marble, the Alabaster, the 
 Porphyry, and the hard pellucid Flint. 
 
 Here are to be found those quarries of Stones, 
 from which are constructed secure and comfortable 
 dwellings for man and beast by which the arms of 
 the pier are strengthened to repel the surges of the 
 sea the rampart is raised above the basis nature 
 had formed our property secured from the depre- 
 dations of intruders the arched bridge thrown 
 across the broad and rapid stream, and the stupen- 
 dous aqueduct carried over the deep-sunk glen. 
 
 Here too are deposited a variety of curious Fossils 
 and extraneous substances, which bafle the wisdom 
 of the wise, and puzzle the reasoning of the natur- 
 alist to account for : and here are those vast layers 
 or strata of earth, in all their variety, whose nature 
 and uses are more apparent where the vegetable 
 kingdom derives its support and nutriment, the trees 
 of the forest spread their wide extended roots, and 
 the tender herb and flower of the field takes hold of 
 the dust ; where the pliable worm forces itself quietly 
 along, the mole finds its darksome way, the foxes 
 
BOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. it 
 
 have holes, and the coneys burrow themselves. 
 Here is that tough tenacious species of earth, which 
 administers its services to man in such a variety of 
 shapes, and acts as a substitute for other commo- 
 dities in situations where nature has denied them. 
 Are some in want of stones for building? Clay, by 
 undergoing a process, becomes firm and hard, to 
 withstand the most rigid blasts of winter. Are there 
 no Slate quarries in the neighbourhood ? Clay, in 
 the shape of Tiles, forms an excellent substitute. 
 Are we in want of Lead for pipes to convey our 
 water from a distance? Clay comes seasonably to 
 our aid. In short, by this mean looking, dirty, and 
 despised substance, we are abundantly supplied 
 with a great variety of utensils and vessels, neat in 
 their structure, cleanly in the use, and though cheap 
 in the purchase, extremely valuable in point of 
 utility. Here are also, commodiously lodged, a va- 
 riety of other useful earths, which it would encroach 
 too much on our limits to attempt to enumerate. 
 These, with an innumerable variety of other useful 
 and valuable materials, of which those we have 
 mentioned may be considered as only a specimen, 
 are safely locked up by PROVIDENCE in this great 
 storehouse of Nature, and the key given to Indus- 
 try to take out and apply as necessity may require, 
 or circumstances direct; and in the disposition of 
 which we may be at a loss what most to admire, 
 the bounty of the Creator, in thus so largely making 
 provision for our numerous wants, or his ivisdom in 
 placing them at such convenient distances below the 
 
12 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 earth's surface, as neither to obstruct by their bulk 
 the operations going on upon it, or to be beyond the 
 reach of moderate labour, when the necessities of 
 man call aloud for their use. 
 
 How inconvenient would it have been, and what 
 small space left for cultivation, had these useful 
 layers of Stone and Lime, Coal and Clay, been 
 promiscuously scattered about in our fields and vine- 
 yards, or plied up in uncouth, naked, and deformed 
 masses, without the slightest depth of soil for a co- 
 vering; and how inaccessible to human labour and 
 ingenuity, or to what an expence of loss of time 
 must man have been put in coming at them, had 
 they been sunk miles instead of feet into the bowels 
 of the earth ? Reflecting upon these things, we have 
 good reason to exclaim, In goodness, as well as 
 " in wisdom hast Thou made them all!" 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 THE FORM OF THE EAETtt. 
 
 " O Nature! all-sufficient, over all! 
 Enrich me with the knowledge of thy works ! '' 
 
 On returning from our subterraneous excursion, 
 our attention is naturally directed to the shape or 
 form of that stupendous fabrick, which contains so 
 many convenient apartments, and is enriched by so 
 many valuable materials; and were we to trust to ap- 
 pearances as they present themselves to our limited 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 13 
 
 powers of vision, we might be led to conclude (as 
 was the opinion of some of the ancients,) that the 
 earth is a wide extended flat, bounded by the hori- 
 zon. 
 
 This belief, however, is now completely explod- 
 ed, and the figure of the earth demonstrated to be 
 globular, by the voyage of a number of circumnavi- 
 gators, from the days of the famous Magellan down 
 to those of our illustrious countryman, Captain Cook. 
 
 By these voyagers it has been fully ascertained, 
 that a vessel leaving Europe in a certain direction, 
 may return to the point from whence she set out, 
 without altering her course farther than is necessary 
 to avoid intervening obstacles, or give her, what the 
 sailors call sea room. 
 
 The spherity of the earth is also apparent from the 
 circumstance, that two ships at sea, sailing in con- 
 trary directions till they lose sight of each other, first 
 do so bv the disappearance of the hulls and lower 
 rigging, and afterwards of the higher sails and top- 
 masts. The roundness, from North to South, is 
 evident from the sinking of northern stars to the 
 horizon, till they actually disappear to those who 
 travel far southward ; and from East to West by the 
 difference of sun rise in proportion as we go east- 
 ward or westward. 
 
 The form of ihe earth being therefore proved by 
 arguments the most incontrovertible, to be that of a 
 globe or sphere, permit us here to pause and ac- 
 knowledge (he wisdom and goodness of the Creator, 
 as manifested in that particular form. This wisdom 
 
 c 
 
14 BOOK. OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 and goodness is highly apparent, when we consider 
 that this is the most capacious, compact, and dura- 
 ble of all figures, the most convenient for a body in 
 motion, for the equal distribution of light and heat, 
 for the proper disposal of land and water, as well as 
 for the beneficial influence of the winds. 
 
 The earth, which is the habitation of so many 
 Creatures, must be sufficiently capacious not only to 
 oontain them, but what is necessary for their preser- 
 vation ; and being, as it were, the basis of this sub- 
 lunary creation, it must be so firmly and compactly 
 girt together, as to be beyond the reach of accident 
 to destroy any of its parts, till the fiat shall have gone 
 forth, that Time shall be no more. 
 
 Had it been of an Angular form, the points of 
 the angles behoved to have been considerably weak- 
 ened by their distance from the centre of gravity, 
 and consequently would have been in continual 
 danger of being loosened, or flying off, by the ra- 
 pidity of the earth's diurnal motion round its axis; 
 or, had it been possible for them to have remained, 
 what resistance must these angles have occasioned 
 in the performance of that motion! What a conti- 
 nual state of perturbation and tempest in the air must 
 they have caused! How incommodious to the dif- 
 fusion of light and heat, and for the wise and useful 
 distribution of the waters ! 
 
 TIic Surface of the Earth. 
 
 In casting our eyes abroad over the face of the 
 eftrth, we observe, it covered with two great bodies 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEH. I 
 
 of Land and Water ; but as it is to the appendages 
 and productions of the former we mean first to di- 
 rect our thoughts, we will leave the consideration of 
 Nature's mighty Reservoir, and the wonders of the- 
 Ocean, to an after occasion, and will proceed to 
 consider the magnificent scene which the dry land 
 presents. 
 
 The first thing that here strikes the imagination 
 is that wonderful diversity every where observable 
 and those numerous inequalities so conspicuous on 
 its surface. On one part, we behold the gently rising 
 hillock, scarcely perceptible amidst the surrounding 
 level; in another, the tremendous precipice, yawn- 
 ing horribly over the mountain's brow ! Here a 
 deep-sunk glen, imbosomed among rocks, recedes 
 from the eye, and screens the little rivulet that glides 
 along its bottom ; there, the lofty summits of the 
 Andes and the Alps, with cloud capt tops wrapt in 
 garments of perpetual snow, bid defiance to vegeta- 
 tion or smile above the blast in sunshine, while the 
 reverberating sound of distant thunder proclaims the 
 raging of the storm below. 
 
 In one place we behold the pleasantly sheltered 
 meadow, decked in all its luxuriance of herbage, 
 and in a another a wide naked waste, or sea-like 
 fen, losing itself in the distant prospect. Here, broad 
 and rapid rivers separate nations at variance ; there 
 the purling stream, partly fordable, and partly sur- 
 mounted by the convenient bridge, unites and con- 
 nects those who enjoy the mild blessings of peace. 
 Here a vast tract of uncultivated heath stretche* 
 
1$ BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 across the districts of the mountains, while lakes of 
 considerable magnitude lave their basis, and cover 
 by their limpid waves the interjacent vallies. 
 
 We have just been considering the earth as a glo- 
 bular body But how, it may be asked, are we to 
 reconcile this with those unequal appearances ob- 
 servable on its surface ? To this we answer, that 
 the elevation of the highest mountain bears no more 
 proportion to the diameter of this wonderful struc- 
 ture, than the inequalities on the rind of an orange 
 does to its bulk ; and although these may render it, 
 comparatively speaking, a little uneven, they do 
 nothing to subtract from the beauty of its appear- 
 ance, or the general roundness of its figure. 
 
 Deformities, indeed, they cannot be called ; for 
 if the human mind delights in variety, these inequa- 
 lities present us with a variety the most pleasing and 
 picturesque ; and if the contemplative philosopher 
 Is captivated by the multiplicity of nature's produc- 
 tions, these furnish food for the most keen researcher 
 into the wonders of creation. But a gratification of 
 taste for the sublime and beautiful were not the only 
 objects the Creator had in view in this diversity of 
 the earth's surface. 
 
 Mountains and Vallies. 
 
 These have other great and important uses. Is 
 Health the greatest of all earthly blessings? to one 
 class of valetudinarians the mountain breeze is be- 
 neficial, while to another the genial warmth of the 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 17 
 
 well sheltered valley produces the most salutary ef- 
 fects. Does the east wind rage with fury, or cold, 
 with its freezing particles, visit us from the north 
 the deep-sunk bosom of the valley, or the lee-side of 
 the mountain, defend us from the fury of the tem- 
 pest, and shelter us from the raging storm. 
 
 By this happy diversity of towering mountain and 
 sinking dale, we have a variety of soil in a small 
 compass, and are furnished with the productions of 
 different climates almost at our doors. These serve 
 also for the harbour and lodgment of a variety of 
 animals that would have been ill accomodated in 
 the open plain. They are also convenient not only 
 for the generating of metals and minerals, but for 
 digging them out with infinitely less trouble and ex- 
 pense than if they had been situate at considerable 
 distances below a level surface ; and mountains are 
 the birth place of many valuable Mines and pre- 
 cious Stones-. 
 
 In the burning regions of the torrid zone, ridges 
 of mountains, running from East to West, arrest 
 with their towering heads the vapours in their flight, 
 and, condensed into rain, force back the fugitives in 
 cooling and refreshing showers. 
 
 In places where earthquakes prevail, mountains 
 are converted into funnels, for the purpose of vomit- 
 ing forth these volcanic eruptions of liquid fire, 
 which, but for such vents, might have shaken king- 
 doms from their foundations, and swallowed up 
 provinces in one mighty gulph. 
 c 2 
 
18 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEK. 
 
 But the most general use to which Providence 
 seems to 'have applied mountains and vallies, and 
 consequently, without doubt, the most important one 
 for which they were designed, is the elevation of 
 Springs, and convenient distribution of Waters, 
 agreeably to the language of the Royal Psalmist: 
 " They go up by the mountains, they go down by 
 the vallies, unto the place which thou hast appointed 
 for them," And this use alone would have atibrded 
 us abundant motives of gratitude and thankfulness, 
 although there had been no other, that from moun- 
 tains and vallies we are supplied with these inesti- 
 mable blessings. 
 
 Springs and Rivers. 
 
 Water is not only one of those necessary elements 
 of which our very means of existence are composed, 
 but it administers to our wants and conveniences on 
 a- variety of occasions, and in many different shapes. 
 
 With water our choicest bread is mixed, and it 
 makes part of the composition of our favourite be- 
 verage, By water the beasts of the field, and the 
 fowls of the air, quench their thirst ; and by means 
 of it the lofty cedar of Lebanon derives its nutri- 
 triment, as well as the tender herb that creepeth 
 against the wall. By this necessary and useful fluid 
 we are assisted in many a tedious and laborious 
 operation: Formed into canals it helps the deep- 
 laden barge forward in its progress ; confined into 
 dams it sets the ponderous mill-wheel in motion ; or 
 
BOOK OF MATURE LAID OPEN. 19 
 
 evaporated into steam, it puts in play the massy arms 
 of the huge engine. 
 
 But how does it come to pass that water is ren- 
 dered thus serviceable? It is partly owing to the 
 wise manner in which the great Creator distributes 
 it from his treasures, by causing Springs to take 
 their rise in elevated situations, and partly from the 
 general law impressed upon fluids to regain their 
 level, that water is impelled forward in its course, 
 and made to surmount so many obstacles in its pro- 
 gress to the sea, while its suitable consistency fits it 
 for being easily turned aside, and diverted into such 
 other channels as the necessities of man may re- 
 quire. 
 
 If, as might have been expected, Springs had 
 been confined in general to the lower situations of 
 the earth, extensive tracts must have been left un- 
 watered, while plains in their immediate neighbour- 
 hood would have been deprived of their fertility by 
 inundation, or rendered pestilential by stagnant wa- 
 ters pent up without the means of escape. Had 
 water been deprived of that admirable property of 
 rising to its level, how liable would it have been to 
 be obstructed in its progress by every insignificant 
 hillock, or trifling rise of the ground ; and, with re- 
 spect to its consistency, besides being rendered inca- 
 pable of being converted to so many useful purposes, 
 had it been thinner, how would it have answered the 
 purpose of supporting so many burdens, or keep- 
 ing \vithinits bounds; had it been thicker, how would 
 it have been adapted for quenching thirst, or ascend- 
 ing the minute tubes of the vegetable tribe? 
 
SO BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 But by this wise and beneficial arrangement, Ri- 
 vers being elevated at their head, in situations at a 
 distance and remote from the sea, are necessitated 
 to pass over a large tract of country, before they 
 lose themselves in the main, and following the course 
 of those numerous sunken beds made for them in 
 the vallies, they are at once confined within their 
 proper limits, and made to wind in many a length- 
 ened turn, to the more copious diffusion of their 
 benefits, than would have otherwise been the case ; 
 while their pliable nature renders them easily turned 
 aside as they glide along, to water those fields re- 
 moved at a small distance from their bunk?, or for 
 other purposes to which the ingenuity of man may 
 make them subservient. 
 
 Mineral and Medicinal Waters, 
 
 Are also amply provided by nature, and dispense 
 their salutary virtues in a variety of situations. 
 These are not so numerous as the other, but are 
 sufficiently so for the purposes to which they are 
 adapted ; for all men, and every living creature, 
 need food, but we have reason to be thankful that 
 all need not the aid of medicine. Many there are, 
 however, who stand in need of their beneficial in- 
 fluences, and many an invalid have they been the 
 means of restoring to renovated powers, and the 
 blessings of health. Like the pool of Bethesda, they 
 may be said to be of a healing nature ; but blessed 
 be the adorable Physician who has opened up these 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 21 
 
 fountains, that they have been found to be for the 
 healing of multitudes who resort thither, and not for 
 him alone who is fortunate enough to be first plunged 
 ipto the troubled stream. 
 
 Widz and extended Plains 
 
 Also cover a considerable portion of the face of 
 our globe, and these are not without their uses. Did 
 nothing but huge mountainous districts, intercepted 
 by deep vallies, present themselves, what room 
 would be left for tillage ? What incredible labour 
 and fatigue in travelling ! What insurmountable 
 barriers to the purposes of trade and commerce! 
 But these facilitate the operations of agriculture, and 
 cause the stubborn glebe to be broken up with ease. 
 Carriages with immense burdens glide alona: ori the 
 level of a rail -way ; the traveller on horseback, en- 
 veloped in darkness, pursues his journey without 
 danger of stumbling ; the loaded waggon is wheeled 
 anwards without interruption; and the swift post 
 flies with astonishing celerity on the wings of busi- 
 ness. 
 
 The last thing we shall touch upon in the general 
 appearance of the surface of the dry land is the 
 
 Verdant Colour of the Earth ', 
 
 For whatever diversity of hue there may be in na- 
 tural objects when viewed separately, there car-* be 
 no doubt but this is the most general and prevailing 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 colour; and as nature does nothing in vain, the cir- 
 cumstance certainly ought not to be overlooked. 
 In this the wisdom and goodness of our Creator 
 will appear by attending to the following considera- 
 tions: Had the robe of nature assumed a more light 
 or brilliant cast, and the generality of objects ap- 
 peared of a white, yelloiv, orange, or red com- 
 plexion, it would have been too much for the strength 
 of our nerves, and instead of being refreshed and 
 delighted, we would have been blinded and over* 
 powered with the dazzling splendour. 
 
 Had she put on a more sombre aspect, and been 
 clothed with a violet, purple, or blue mantle, the 
 prospect must have been sad, dismal, and gloomy, 
 and instead of imparting to the animal spirits the 
 exhilarating draught to keep them in full play, 
 would have suffered them to subside into dejection 
 and despondency. To prevent these two extremes, 
 nature is clothed with a verdant mantle, being that 
 proper combination of light and shade, that neither 
 dazzles nor darkens the prospect, which rather re- 
 freshes than fatigues the eye, strengthens and invi- 
 gorates instead of weakening the powers of vision, 
 and creates in the soul that increasing delight and 
 lengthened rapture, which the poet had in view 
 when he wrote the following lines : 
 
 " Gay green ! 
 
 Thou smiling Nature's universal robe ; 
 United light and shade ! where the sight dwells 
 With growing streng h, and ever new delight]." 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEIST. 23 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 VEGETABLES. 
 
 
 
 < Your contemplation further yet pursue ; 
 The wondrous world of Vegetables view ! 
 See varied Trees their various fruits produce, 
 Some for delightful taste, and some for use. 
 See Sprouting Plants enrich the plain and wood, 
 For physic some, and some design'd for food. 
 See Fragrant Flowers, with different colour's dy'd, 
 On smiling meads unfold their gaudy pride ! 
 
 FROM the verdant colour of creation the transi- 
 tion is natural to a consideration of the objects by 
 which it is occasioned. These are the numerous 
 vegetable tribes which cover and adorn the surface 
 of our globe in all that variety of Trees, Shrubs, 
 and Herbs which we behold. 
 
 Here Trees, like stately turrets, raise their lofty 
 heads; there, the more pliant and humble thick set 
 Shrubs unite their foliage; while the herbaceous 
 tribe in mingled profusion cling more closely to the 
 earth, and cover the fields with their verdure. Man 
 cannot contemplate the vegetable creation without 
 recalling the idea of beauty, sweetness, and a thou- 
 sand charms thai captivate the senses. The perfume 
 of the rose, the brilliancy of the lily, the sweetness 
 of the violet, and the stately magnificence of the 
 forest, successively catch his attention and delight 
 him. 
 
24 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 The, Structure, of Vegetables) 
 
 In all their varied forms, is truly wonderful. 
 How excellently adapted are the roots for taking 
 hold of their parent earth, as well as for drawing 
 nourishment for the support of the plant, and imbib- 
 ing moisture from the neighbouring soil ! How com- 
 modiously are the various tubes and fibres which 
 compose the trunk or stalk arranged, for the motion 
 of the sap upwards to aH the extremities of the 
 leaves and branches ! How nicely are the .'eaves 
 formed for the important services they are made to 
 yield in the economy of vegetation ! See how they 
 serve to concoct and prepare the sap ; how they 
 prevent by their s"hade the moisture at the root from 
 being too speedily evaporated ; how they embrace 
 and defend the flower in the bud, and carefully con- 
 ceal the fruit before it arrives at maturity ; and by 
 catching the undulations of the gentle breeze, how 
 they convey that motion to the trunk and branches, 
 which (for ought we know,,) may be as essentially 
 necessary to the vegetable life as exercise is to ani- 
 mal health. What an excellent clothing does the 
 bark afford, not only for protecting the stem and 
 branches from external injury, but from the hurtful 
 extremes of heat and cold? What evident marks 
 of wisdom and design do the Flowers evince in their 
 beautiful and delicate construction ! how nicely are 
 they formed for the protection and nourishment of 
 the first and tender rudiments of the fruit ! and when 
 it has attained more firmness and solidity, how 
 
BOOK. OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 25 
 
 readily do they relinquish their charge, and drop 
 off in decay when no longer necessary ! How won- 
 derfully does the fruit, in some classes, envelope 
 and protect the seed till it has arrived at maturity ; 
 and, lastly, what a passing strange piece of orga- 
 nized mechanism is the seed itself, and, being ne- 
 cessary for the reproduction of its species, what a 
 remarkable provision is made for its preservation 
 and succession ! What but the wisdom of a Deity 
 could have devised that those seeds w r hich are most 
 exposed to the ravages of the inhabitants of the 
 forest, should not only be doubly, but some of them 
 trebly enclosed ! that those most in request as arti- 
 cles of food, should be so hardy and abundantly 
 prolific ; and that seeds in general, which are the 
 sport of so many casualties, and exposed to injury 
 from such a variety of accidents, are possessed of a 
 principle of lasting vitality, which makes it indeed 
 no easy matter to deprive them of their fructifying 
 power. Plants are also multiplied and propagated 
 by a variety of ways, which strengthen the provision 
 for their succession. 
 
 Nor is the finger of Providence less visible in the 
 means of diffusing or spreading abroad vegetables, 
 than in the provision made for keeping up their suc- 
 cession. The earth may be said to be full of the 
 goodness of the Lord ; but how comes it to pass, 
 that in parts untrod by man, and on the tops of ru- 
 inous buildings, so many varied specimens of the 
 vegetable creation are to be found ? Is it not from 
 the manner in which Nature's great husbandman 
 
 D 
 
26 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 scatters his seeds about ? While the seeds of some 
 plants are made sufficiently heavy to fall down and 
 take up their abode nigh the place of their nativity ; 
 and others, after having been swallowed by quadru- 
 peds, are deposited in the neighbouring soil ; some 
 are carried by the fowls of the air to places more re- 
 mote, or, being furnished with a soft plumage, are 
 borne on the winds of heaven to the situations allot- 
 ted for them. To prevent some from pitching too 
 near, they are wrapt up in elastic cases, which burst- 
 ing when fully ripe, the prisoners fly abroad in all 
 directions : to prevent others from straying too far, 
 they are furnished with a kind of grappling hooks 
 that arrest them in their flight, and attach them to 
 the spot most congenial to their growth. 
 
 In the construction of plants we observe a consi- 
 derable difference in the consistence of the three 
 classes. Compared with the shrubby race, how 
 hard, firm, and tenacious is the trunk of the majestic 
 Oak; and, compared with the herbaceous tribe, how 
 woody, tough, and elastic is the hawthorn twig; 
 but for this, how could the mighty monarch of the 
 wood have been able to withstand the fury of the 
 tempest; and, while the more humble and lowly 
 shrubs stand not in need of such firmness of texture, 
 their pliability and elastic toughness, together with 
 the prickly coat of mail by which they are envelop- 
 ed, render them less susceptible of injury in their 
 exposed situation. 
 
 Softness, united with a still greater degree of flex- 
 ibility, are the distinguishing characteristics of the 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 27 
 
 herbaceous order; and how wisely has this been or- 
 dered for the various purposes for which they were 
 created ; with the firmness of trees, to what a 
 prickly stubble must Nature's soft and downy carpet 
 have given way ? with the tenacity of shrubs, how 
 would it have answered as food for our cattle ? 
 
 There are, besides, a number of other properties 
 and peculiarities in the vegetable kingdom, in which 
 the wonderful working of Divinity shines pre-emi* 
 nent. How strange, for instance, that if a seed is 
 sown in a reversed position, the young root turns of 
 itself downwards, while the stern refuses to sink 
 deeper in the soil, and bends itself round to shoot up 
 through the surface of the earth. How surprising, 
 that when the roots of a tree or plant meet with a 
 stone or other interruption in their progress under- 
 ground, they change their direction and avoid it. 
 How amazing, that the numerous shoots which 
 branch out from the root in quest of moisture, pursue 
 as it were by instinct the tract that leads to it ; will 
 turn from a barren to a more fertile soil ; and, that 
 plants shut up in a darksome room, bend or creep 
 to any aperture through which the rays of light may 
 be admitted. 
 
 In these respects the vegetable tribes may be said 
 to possess something analogous to animal life ; but 
 here the resemblance does not drop how surprising 
 the phenomenon of what is called the sleep of plants, 
 and the sexual system of Linnaeus, founded on the 
 discovery that there exists in the vegetable, as well 
 as in the animal kingdom, a distinction of sexes ! 
 
28 BOOK OP KATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 What amazing variety of size, of shape, and hue, 
 do we discover among this multitudinous order of 
 things ! What different properties do some possess 
 from others ! and what a near approach do a few 
 make to that superior order immediately above 
 them, in the scale of existence ! The Sensitive 
 plant, when slightly touched, evinces something like 
 the timidity of our harmless animals ; the Hedysa- 
 rum Gyrans, or moving plant of the East, exhibits 
 an incessant and spontaneous movement of its leaves 
 during the day, in warm and clear weather ; but 
 in the night season, and in the absence of light and 
 heat, its motions cease, and it remains, as it were, in 
 a state of quiescence ; and the American Venus 9 
 Flytrap, like an animal of prey, seems to lie in wait 
 to catch the unwary insect. These are wonderful 
 properties of the vegetable creation, but these are 
 necessary in the infinitude of the works of creation, 
 as links to connect it with the order of animals, and 
 preserve unbroken the most minute gradations in 
 Nature's universal chain ! 
 
 Flowers are undoubtedly among the most exqui- 
 site pieces of nature's workmanship. What beautiful 
 tints do they display ! what lively colours do they 
 unfold ! what variegated beauties do they discover ! 
 and what delightful perfumes do they emit! In 
 view of these well might the poet exclaim : 
 
 " Who can paint 
 
 Like Nature? Can imagination boast 
 Amid its gay creation, hues like hers? 
 Or can it mix them with that matchless skill, 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 And lose them in each other, as appears 
 In every bud that blows ?" 
 
 But we have no less to admire in the general con- 
 trivance and delicate structure of their several parts, 
 and beautiful harmony of the whole, than in the lay- 
 ing on of the colours by which they are embellished. 
 
 The diversity of shape, and ?A>rm, and complexion, 
 in those of different kinds, is not more remarkable 
 than that no two are to he found exactly alike, even 
 of the same species, and growing on the same stalk 
 or knot. 
 
 Nor should the aromatic fragrarrce which those 
 beautiful sons and daughters of nature Send forth, 
 more excite our gratitude, than that well ordered 
 succession, by which the pleasures we receive from 
 these transitory visitants, are lengthened out and 
 protracted all the year round. 
 
 Before winter with his cloudy front has taken his 
 departure, the early Snow drop boldly steps forth 
 in his pure white robe, the Crocus next, with an air 
 of timidity peeps out, and, as if afraid to venture, 
 keeps close to die earth ; then comes the Violet with 
 her varied beauties, accompanied by the sparkling 
 Polyanthus, and splendid Auricula; afterwards 
 groves of Tulips display their rich and gaudy attire, 
 followed by the Anemone in her spreading robe. 
 Now the" Ranuncules expands the richness of his 
 foliage, the Sun-Flower shoots forth his golden rays, 
 and the beautiful Carnation with a numerous train 
 bring up the rear, and close the procession. 
 
30 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 The Use of Vegetables. 
 
 Trees. Those stupendous specimens of creating 
 art spread not their wide extended roots, nor lift 
 their lofty heads in vain. Beneath their cooling 
 shades, our flocks and herd's find a c(.mfortable 
 asylum from the scorching rays of the summer sun; 
 the wild stragglers of the forest have a place of re- 
 fuge among their woods and thickets; whilst the 
 feathery songsters of the grove build their little 
 dwellings in security, and sing among their branch- 
 es ; " as for the stork, the fir trees are her house." 
 
 But in what a variety of respects, besides afford- 
 ing the inhabitants of warm climates an agreeable 
 shelter from the mid day heat, do they yield their 
 services, or are made subservient to the use of man. 
 Some, as the bread fruit tree of the Pacific Ocean, 
 the cabbage tree of East Florida, the tea tree of 
 China, the sugarmaple tree of America, the coffee 
 tree and sugar cane in the West Indies, and the nu- 
 merous luxurious fruit bearing trees scattered over 
 the face of the globe, contribute to our wants in form 
 of food. The fountain tree on one of the Canary 
 Islands, is said by voyagers to furnish the inhabitants 
 with a supply of water ; while the paper-mulberry 
 tree of the Southern ocean, and the cotton shrub of 
 America, provide us with materials for clothing. 
 The candle-berry myrtle presents the inhabitants of 
 Nankeen with a substitute for animal tallow. The 
 salt tree of Chili yields a daily supply of fine salt 
 Thf cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and pimento, furnish 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. i 
 
 us ,with a supply of spices. The Jesuit's bark, 
 manna, senna, and others, produce a variety of sim- 
 ple but useful medicines. Some trees yield a preci- 
 ous balsam for the healing of nations; son e a quan- 
 tity of turpentine and rosin, and others give out their 
 quota of valuable oils and gums. 
 
 Nor are trees serviceable only in a natural state : 
 by the assistance of art, some are converted into 
 houses to protect man from the inclemency of the 
 weather, or are moulded into a variety of forms for 
 the purposes of building, and domestic comfort; 
 others raise the huge fabric of the floating cattle or 
 bulky merchantman, by which the articles of indus- 
 try and commerce are transported, and a communi- 
 cation kept up with the remotest regions, 
 
 Our limits do not permit us to enlarge upon these 
 specimens, or point out the various uses to which a 
 number of other woods in general use may be ap- 
 plied ; but the reader's own thoughts may suggest 
 these, as they are sufficiently obvious : and mean 
 time we will proceed to the order of 
 
 Shrubs. As much that has been already said 
 respecting the utility of trees, may be applied in 
 common to this order, we will confine ourselves to 
 the three particulars in- which they may be said to 
 differ most from the former ; the first is their stature, 
 the second their greater pliability, and the third the 
 prickly armour by which many of them are covered. 
 
 Some shrubs, as the gooseberry, the rasp, and the 
 current bushes, so common in our gardens, gratify 
 the palate, and temper the blood during the summer 
 
32 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 months with agreeable and cooling fruit; others, as 
 the rose, delight and please the eye by the beauty 
 of their flowers ; or regale the olfactory nerves with 
 the fragrance of their perfumes, as the sweet scented 
 briar: but how could these several ends have been 
 accomplished, if, by a more exalted exposure, the 
 fruit bearing bushes had placed their treasures be- 
 yond our reach every rose, with its back turned to 
 us. had been " born to blush unseen," and each aro- 
 matic shrub, removed far above the sense of smel- 
 ling, had literally been left 
 
 " To waste its sweetness in the desart air." 
 
 With regard to that considerable share of pliant 
 elasticity possessed by some of them, how easily 
 does this admit the branches .to be turned aside, and 
 to resume their former position, in gathering of the 
 fruit or flowers, and how serviceable does this pro- 
 perty enable us to make some of them in the form 
 of hoops, baskets, or wicker work of any descrip- 
 tion ; while the sharp-pointed prickles by which they 
 are armed, serve not only as weapons of defence for 
 themselves, but furnish us with cheap and secure 
 fences against the inroads of straggling cattle, and 
 the unwelcome intrusion of the unprincipled vagrant. 
 
 Herbs in an especial manner may be said to> 
 constitute the food of man and beast, as well as to 
 yield their assistance in an infinity of ways; and 
 behold, in what profusion they spring forth; in 
 what numerous bands they appear ! Yonder, a field 
 of golden-eared wheat presents to the view a most 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. S3 
 
 prolific crop of what forms the chief part of the sfeaff 
 of life. Here a few acres of long bearded barley 
 ripen to provide us with our favourite beverage. 
 On the right hand stand the tall growing and slen- 
 der oats and flowering potatoes, to revive and keep 
 alive the hopes of the poor; while on the left the 
 heavy laden bean, and low -creeping pea, in length- 
 ened files vegetate to furnish provender for our 
 horses; or the globular turnip increases its swelling 
 bulk to lay up for our herds a supply of food when 
 the softer herbage of the tietd is locked up by the 
 congealing powers of winter. 
 
 But what a spontaneous crop of luxuriant herbage 
 do our meadows present in the appointed season, 
 and in what a profusion of wholesome pasture do 
 the numerous flocks of sheep and cattle roam! 
 Whether they frequent the solitary holm, beside the 
 still waters, or range the pathless steep, still they 
 are followed by the goodness of the Lord : myriads 
 of grassy tufts spring up on every side, and they are 
 satisfied out of the treasures of Providence. 
 
 But the herbaceous productions of the field are 
 not universally calculated for the purposes of food. 
 In some places numerous groups of tall, thin, flexi- 
 ble plants make their appearance, whose filmy coats 
 being properly manufactured, are converted into the 
 most costly and delicate raiment; while others of a 
 coarser texture furnish the mariner with wings to 
 his vessel, cordage to tighten his masts, or the pon- 
 derous cable to stay his bark in the midst of the 
 fluctuating element. 
 
34 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 But here their services do not end; for when 
 worn out in one shape, they assume a new form, and 
 not only furnish the material from which is formed 
 the wrapper of the manufacturer, and the package 
 of the merchant, but that invaluable article upon 
 which we write upon which we are able to hold 
 converse with friends at a distance and by means 
 of ichich, man transmits his thoughts to man, and 
 generations unborn are enabled to hold converse 
 with past ages! 
 
 By means of these pliant productions we are also 
 supplied with a variety of seeds and oils, of much 
 request in common life ; and wherever disease is 
 known? there, we have reason to believe, medicinal 
 herbs spring up as antidotes ; some communicating 
 their healing virtues by the root, some by the leaves, 
 and others by the flowers or seeds. A number of 
 these, and many others of the greatest utility in me- 
 dicine, come forth in various parts of the globe 
 without the aid of art, and are found growing wild 
 among the herbs of the field but these are not the 
 effects of chance. They were originally planted by 
 the hands of Omnipotence, at the suggestion of 
 Divine benevolence, prompted by Omniscience. It 
 was the Lord who created medicines out of the 
 earth; He foresaw the distresses of his creatures, 
 and in pity to their calamities, not only commission- 
 ed the balm to spring up in Gilead for the healing 
 of the eastern tribes, but has spread abroad that 
 boundless variety of medicinal plants, which are to 
 be found in every climate, suited to the diseases of 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 35 
 
 those particular spots, where Providence, all-wise, 
 hath fixed the lot of their inhabitants. 
 
 What a beautiful variety of nutritious esculents, 
 and exquisitely formed flowers do our gardens pre- 
 sent ! Here the Parsley with her frizzled locks, the 
 Celery with her outstretched arms, the Asparagus 
 with his towering stem, the Artichoke with his tur- 
 gid top, the Cauliflower with her milky dome, the 
 Cabbage with her swelling form, a variety of greens 
 with their curled leaves, and long files of peas and 
 beans, await in silence their master's call to do ho- 
 mage at his table ; and here too is deposited, among 
 a number of valuable and useful roots, that excellent 
 farinaceous substitute for bread, the wholesome po- 
 tatoe. 
 
 Flowers. But for what purpose do .these charm- 
 ing flowers come forth r Is it merely to please our 
 eyes with their brilliant colours, and regale the sense 
 of smelling with their odoriferous perfumes, that 
 they unfold their fascinating beauties and emit their 
 pleasing fragrance ? Or is it to attract those nume- 
 rous insects which swarm among them, and riot 
 amid their liquid sweets? 
 
 That flowers were designed for both these pur- 
 poses is apparent from the sensations we experience 
 when we have leisure to visit those delightful spots, 
 and the assiduous eagerness which the busy bee 
 evinces in roaming from flower to flower, to extract 
 their balmy juices* But there is another, and that 
 a most important use to which the flowery race may 
 
36 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 be made subservient : In reason's ear they become 
 preachers. 
 
 The upright philosopher of the land of Uz, and 
 that devout admirer of the works of Nature, Israel's 
 king David, both took occasion to compare the un- 
 certain ten ut ot human life, to the frail and perish- 
 able state of a flower. The prophet Isaiah repre* 
 sents the transient glory of the crown of pride as 
 being like to one of these fading beauties; and our 
 Saviour has demonstrated that an important lesson 
 may be learned against a too anxious care, and 
 pride in dress, by a right consideration of these gay 
 visitants: " Consider the lilies how they grow ; they 
 toil not, they spin not , and yet I say unto you, that 
 Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one 
 of these." 
 
 It must, therefore, add much to the value of these 
 short lived monitors, in the estimation of the wise, 
 and make their peaceful abodes be sought after with 
 the greater avidity by those who take pleasure in the 
 works of God, that they are thus capable of afford- 
 ing matter for serious reflection and moral improve- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Addison seems to have been sensible of this, 
 when he breaks out into the following declamation, 
 in praise of the pleasures of such a retirement: 
 " You must know, Sir," says he, in one of his papers 
 in the spectator, " that I look upon the pleasure 
 which we take in a garden, as one of the most inno- 
 cent delights of human life. A garden was the ha- 
 bitation of our first parents before the fall It is 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 37 
 
 naturally apt to fill the mind with calmness and 
 tranquility, and to lay all its turbulent passions at 
 rest. It gives us a great insight into the contrivance 
 and wisdom of Providence, and suggests innumera- 
 ble subjects for meditation. We cannot but think 
 the very complacency and satisfaction which a man 
 takes in these works of Nature, to be a laudable, if 
 not a virtuous habit of mind." 
 
 But let not the poor complain, or those who have 
 no garden to retire to, no beautifully adorned en- 
 closure, where, secluded from society, they may give 
 themselves up to reflection. Still the fields are open 
 to them, and what, in the words of an eminent na- 
 turalist, is the earth, but " an immense garden, laid 
 out and planted by the hand of the Deity ? the 
 lofty mountains and waving forests are its terraces 
 and groves; fertile fields and flowery meadows form 
 its beautiful parterres." 
 
 We cannot, we are persuaded, conclude this head 
 of our subject better than with the following quota- 
 tion from the author of The Seasons : 
 
 *' Soft roll your incense herbs, and fruits, and flowers, 
 
 In mingled clouds to HIM, whose sun exalts, 
 
 Whose breath perfumes you, and whose pencil paints." 
 
oS BOOK. OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 ANIMALS. 
 
 Fountain of elegance, unseen thyself, 
 
 What limit owns thy beauty, when thy works 
 
 Seem '.o possess, to faculties like mine, 
 
 Perfection infinite ! the merest speck 
 
 Of animated matter, to the eye 
 
 That studiously surveys the wise design, 
 
 Is a full volume of abundant art. 
 
 IN ascending from the Vegetable to the Animal 
 kingdom, we cannot help our attention being for- 
 cibly engaged by the singular construction, and 
 amazing properties of those little wonders found at 
 the bottom of ditches, and adhering to the underside 
 of the broad leaves of Aquatic Plants, known by the 
 name of Freshwater Polypuses. See that little 
 thing in form of a funnel or bell, adhering by the 
 lower extremity to some extraneous substance at 
 the bottom of the water ! Observe how it shoots 
 out its slender arms from the margin of its wide 
 mouth, and casts them around, occasioning a vortex 
 in the fluid! See how those insects, after being 
 drawn into that vortex, are caught hold of by its 
 arms, and conveyed to the mouth with a celerity 
 that is astonishing ; but for these signs of life and 
 animation would you not have taken what you first 
 saw to be a flower? Now observe how it shoots 
 out from its sides something in form of buds; return 
 in a few days, and, what do you behold? these 
 buds converted into perfect Polypuses, but still ad- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 39 
 
 hering to the parent. See how, by a sudden Jirkj 
 they separate, and immediately fix on other situa- 
 tions; cut one of these in two, the upper ^art shoots 
 out a tail, and the under produces a head; cut one 
 in three, and the upper and under do the same, 
 while the middle division produces both a head and 
 a tail ; cut one down lengthways to the middle, and 
 you have a monster with two heads; divide these, 
 again and again, as often as you please, and you 
 have a Hydra with many heads, in short cut the 
 Polypus into ten, or ten hundred parts, the effect 
 will be the same, and you will have as many Poly- 
 puses. 
 
 If the Sensitive Plant, the Hedysarum Gyrans, 
 and Venus' Fly-Trap, may be considered as so 
 many links at which the vegetable creation ends, 
 these living plants, if we may use the expression, 
 and animal flowers, which are found adhering to 
 the rocks on the sea shore, may, as well as the Oys- 
 ter, and other shell -fish (which form the connection 
 betwixt the animal and the mineral kingdom,) be 
 reckoned among those at which the mysterious "and 
 multitudinous order of beings begins, which is con- 
 tinued in such an infinitude of shapes and sizes, 
 shades and differences, and possessed with such a 
 number gf dissimilar appetites and instincts, from 
 the lowest gradation amongst the number of these 
 imperfectly formed animals, till it arrives at that 
 most complete piece of Nature's workmanship that 
 cape-stone of the inferior creation, or link whick 
 unites it with superior intelligences Man. 
 
40 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 The number of animated creatures is prodigious 
 indeed! The whole creation teems as it were with 
 existence! The dry-land sends forth its multitudes; 
 the air hath its swarms; the sea its numerous shoals: 
 and the very depositories of corruption produce their 
 myriads ! Indeed in the class of Insects alone there 
 are a greater number of species than there are kinds 
 of Plants on the surface of the earth. In a little rain 
 water, after standing some days, Mr. Lewenhoeck 
 discovered innumerable animalcules, many thou- 
 sands of times less than a grain of sand, and in 
 proportion to a mite as a bee is to a horse! Having 
 examined the melt of a cod, he concluded that it 
 contained more living animalcules than there were 
 people living in the world; and by a method he 
 made use of in order to ascertain the comparative 
 size with the thickness or breadth of a hair of his 
 head, it was found that 216,000 of these minute 
 creatures are but epual to a globe whose diameter is 
 the breath of a hair. How amazing the wonders of 
 Omnipotence! 
 
 Yet notwithstanding these immense numbers, this 
 amazing diversity of form and bulk, of taste and 
 habit, all are conveniently and comfortably lodged ; 
 all are fed to their hearts' content, at the same 
 common table, and in such a manner as qpt a frag- 
 ment can be lost. How wonderful is it to observe 
 how well adapted are the various appetites of his 
 Creatures, to fulfil the will of the Great Creator, that 
 not a fragment may be lost. Some animals ol the 
 carniverous kind have an unquenchable thirst for 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 41 
 
 blood warm from the animal; others are satisfied 
 with the flesh newly killed: a third are not pleased 
 with it till it is in a state of putridity : ot those of 
 another description, some live upon fruits and roots; 
 otliers can partake of bark and leaves ; a third put 
 up with the soft herbage of the meadow ; and a 
 fourth. are content with the very refuse of our fields 
 and gardens: while each pursues that particular 
 path chalked out for him by Nature, without re- 
 pining or envying the lot of his neighbour. 
 
 The unwieldly Whale in the Greenland seas, the* 
 numerous herds of Elephants which graze the ex- 
 tensive regions betwixt the river Senegal and the 
 Cape of Good Hope ; and the gigantic Ostrich of 
 the sandy borders of Egypt and Palestine, roam as 
 much at large as the winged insect that flits from 
 flower to flower, or the invisible Animalcule \\hich 
 swims in the liquid drop. The polar Bear of the 
 Arctic Circle, wrapt in his shaggy covering, the 
 Ermine of Siberia in his furry mantle, and the Wa- 
 ter-Fowl with her thick-set oily feathers, no doubt 
 feel as comfortable as the Barbary Cow, almost 
 naked, the rhinoceros, sheltered from the tropical 
 heats by his coat of mail, or the monstrous Hippo- 
 potamus (the Behemoth of Job,) when he retires to 
 cool himself at the bottom of the African rivers. 
 Those abhorred insects which feed upon ordure, or 
 still more loathsome, that riot in putrefaction, we 
 have reason to believe feed as deliciously as the 
 Racoon on his West-Indian sweets, or pampered 
 Lap-dog from the hand of its mistress. And if the 
 E 2 
 
42 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, 
 we have no reason to suppose but the former feel 
 as happy when they have formed their habitations 
 at a convenient distance from the hen-ioosi, and the 
 latter, when from their lofty situations they can 
 behold the fowler at a distance, as the frocks and 
 herds which graze our fields, or the domestic fowls 
 which partake of our care and bounty. By this 
 wise and happy arrangement, the harmony of the 
 universe is preserved, and the prodigious multitude 
 of Earth's numerous tenants enabled to exist with- 
 out 'disorder or confusion. 
 
 But if we attend to the internal- structure of these 
 wonderfully complicated and intricately woven ma- 
 chines, called Animals, we will still find more rea- 
 son to admire and adore that Great Supreme, whose 
 omnipotent fiat brought them all into existence No 
 wonder that Galen, at the sight of a human skeleton, 
 should relinquish his former atheistical thoughts; 
 and, that the Psalmist, on the contemplation of his 
 material structure, should exclaim, " I am fearfully 
 and wonderfully made ;" but the greater surprise 
 is, that so many skeletons of animals and animated 
 wonders can be beheld with so much indifference 
 by that creature to whom God has given reflection 
 for the wisest of purposes ; for to what purpose can 
 the thoughts of man be better applied than to the 
 contemplation of the Deity through the medium of 
 his works ! 
 
 " What variety of springs, what forces, and what 
 mechanical motion (says Button,) are % enclosed in 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 43 
 
 this small part of matter which composes the body 
 of an animal ! What properties, what harmony, 
 and what correspondence between the various parts ! 
 How many combinations, arrangements, causes, ef- 
 fects and principles, conspire to complete one end; 
 and another writer observes: u In the single ounce 
 of matter which composes the body of a Sparrow, 
 we see all the instruments necessary for eating, for 
 digestion, for respiration, for seeing, ior hearing, for 
 smelling, for walking, for flying, for the performance 
 of ever) animal function, and of every motion. All 
 the parts of the complicated machine are perfectly 
 appropriated, completely adapted to their respective 
 uses ; and all disposed with the most exact organi- 
 zation." All this is very true, but would not the 
 wonder have been still more augmented, had the 
 specimens been taken from among those little curi- 
 osities of the Western hemisphere, called Humming- 
 birds ; with the addition that its beak is pointed like 
 a needle, its claws not thicker than a common pin ; 
 that its nest is about half an inch deep, its egg about 
 the size of a small pea ; and that nevertheless this 
 diminutive bird is adorned with a plumage of the 
 richest hues, and covered with a down that makes 
 it resemble a velvet flower? Upon its head is a 
 black tuft of incomparable beauty; the breast is of 
 a rose colour, its belly white as milk, the b: ck, 
 wings,. and tail are grey, with a border resembling 
 silver, and as if streaked with gold of the brightest 
 hue! But indeed the structure of the smaller in- 
 sect, or minutest animal in the creation of God carries 
 
44 BOOR OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 along with it the most indisputable evidence of its 
 Original; namely, that it is beyond the possibility 
 of art to imitate, or the utmost stretch of human in- 
 genuity to comprehend. 
 
 Motion is one distinguishing characteristic of the 
 animal from th'* vegetable kingdom of 'Nature: and 
 this peculiarity will bo found to be absolutely neces- 
 sary ; for if the food or nutriment 01 animals is not 
 brought to them as to plants, by means of roots or 
 other conductors, they must needs go in search of 
 it; and how wisely are they furnished with instru- 
 ments for the purpose, some in the form of liir.bs, 
 some of wings, some of fins, and some of the reptile 
 tribe are enabled to move by the disposition of the 
 muscles and fibres of their bodies ; but what would 
 this power of motion and means of performing it 
 have signified, had these creatures been left to grope 
 in the dark, without ability to distinguish the good 
 from the bad : 
 
 To shun their poison, and to choose their food." 
 
 Might they not as well have remained to perish 
 en the spot which gave them birth, as to have strayed 
 only to get their frames shattered by every interven- 
 ing obstacle: or the vital spark extinguished by 
 mistaking the beautiful plant for the wholesome herb. 
 To remedy such evils, how r ever, Nature, or rather 
 the God of Nature, has not only .provided them 
 with senses, but has taken the utmost precaution to 
 guard from external injury these wonderful pieces 
 of exquisite skill, as well as that seat of all sensa- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 45 
 
 tion, from whence the ramifications of the nerves 
 take their rise. 
 
 To mention only one or two of the most obvious, 
 for instance; what a curious and wonderful piece of 
 mechanism is the human Eye, so admirably con- 
 trived with its various coats, muscles, vessels, hu- 
 mours, nerves, and retina, for the purposes of vision ! 
 How excellent its situation for the use it was de- 
 signed ! and how safely guarded by tie projecting 
 eye brows and watchful eye lashes, ev^ppn the alert, 
 from external injury ! The Eur, too, is a most 
 wonderful structure, contrived by its .ridges and 
 hollow's to gather and concentrate sounds till they 
 strike on the transparent membrane that forms the 
 surface of the drum, although deeply lodged that it 
 may also be preserved from outward accident 
 These are strange pieces of mechanism indeed! 
 and is it not natural to conclude, " He that planted 
 the ear shall he not hear f he that formed the eye 
 shall he not see ?" 
 
 If the brain, which is the seat of sensation and 
 the fountain of the animal spirits, is environed round 
 with such a hard, thick, and tough substance as the 
 skull, the heart and lungs are wisely placed in the 
 centre of the body, and encompassed by a double 
 fence of bones or ribs, muscles, and skin. 
 
 Without breathing, to put the wheel in motion at 
 the cistern, no animal could exist, and how admira- 
 bly situated and guarded also, as we have observed, 
 are the organs of respiration, and that mysterious 
 movement, " that faints not, neither is weary/' but 
 
46 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEW. 
 
 by night and by day, asleep or awake, in motion or 
 at rest, beats in unremitting pulsations, with greater, 
 regularity than a watch, in the breast ot some ani- 
 mals for sixty, in some seventy, and in others up- 
 wards of one hundred years. We might also notice 
 the admirable structure and wise disposition ot the 
 other parts in the animal economy, but this would 
 be inconsistent with our present limits and design ; 
 we must, however, observe on the whole, that each 
 will be fou^J| most conveniently situated for its re- 
 spective uses, and formed in the wisest manner for 
 its various purposes; that while nothing is wanting 
 to render the structure complete, there is nothing su- 
 perfluous or made in vain. The feelers of the 
 Butterfly are no less essential to her well being than 
 the proboscis of the Elephant; and the leg of the 
 Fly can no more say to its wing, than the eye of the 
 human body to its hand, " I have no need of thee." 
 But if the riglit consideration of the structure of 
 animals as well as the wise provision made for their 
 lodgment and subsistence, is convincing to the most 
 sceptical, that all are the doings of a Being infinite 
 in power, and fearful in working ; and inspire the 
 religious philosopher with such sentiments as David 
 expressed when contemplating the formation of the 
 human frame ; must we not also adopt such lan- 
 guage as he made use of on another occasion, and 
 say v when reflecting on the manner in which these 
 creatures are reproduced, and the wonders of that 
 procreative power by which a continued succession 
 is kept up ; Thine eyes saw them when they icere 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID PEN. 4? 
 
 made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lower 
 places of the earth. Whether they come into the 
 world in the shape of animals completely toi med, 
 or through the medium of eggs, still the business of 
 generation must remain a mystery, arid be reckoned 
 amongst the number of the dark things of the Creator. 
 
 The provision for keeping the number of living 
 creatures within due limits, is no less remarkable 
 than that for bringing them into being. The most 
 formidable monsters are thinly scattered, or confined 
 to particular spots. The destructive Tiger> for /in- 
 stance, is not very common, and the greatest ren- 
 dezvous of this blood-thirsty animal is said to be a 
 sort of insulated situation, the Sunderbunds or 
 Woody -Islands, at the mouth of the Ganges in India. 
 Long lived animals are observed to have few young 
 at a time ; while those of the greatest utility or such 
 as are used for animal food, abound in every climate, 
 and the short in duration are uncommonly prolific ! 
 
 The instinct displayed by many of the irrational 
 creation for the preservation of their young, is also 
 truly astonishing,, and in some instances has been 
 referred to as examples of the strongest proofs of af- 
 fection. " How often," says our Saviour, " would 
 I have gathered thy children together, as a hen ga- 
 thereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would 
 not !" but there are some of this order who stand 
 not long in need of parental protection and instruc- 
 tion ; for the newly-calved Hippopotamus on the 
 death of his dam, will, at the sight of danger, betake 
 himself to a place of safety in his natural element,, 
 
48 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 the bottorr of the river. This n.ight bring us to 
 speak more fully of those particular instincts by 
 which animals are distinguished ; but as we shall 
 have occasion to notice a few of these in considering 
 some peculiarities in the difterent orders as we go 
 along, we will here drop the general survey, and 
 proceed to that of 
 
 Quadrupeds. 
 
 OF this order it may be remarked in general, that 
 they derive their name from the number of their 
 legs ; and this naturally occasions in those that make 
 use of them for the purpose of walking, the prone 
 posture by which they are distinguished ; but this 
 posture, far from incommoding them, is, by the wise 
 conformation of the other parts, rendered the most 
 commodious possible for their habits and manner of 
 living. Quadrupeds are, for the most part, furnish- 
 ed with tails, and these are highly useful in the 
 absence of arms, for sweeping off vermin and trou- 
 blesome animals. Having no hands to lift their 
 food to their mouths, the necks of this order are in 
 general proportioned to the length of their fore legs; 
 their legs are made to bend in such a direction as 
 with the greatest ease to facilitate their motion for- 
 wards ; they have, for the most part 7 a covering of 
 hair or wool ; and, that the weight of the head 
 might not become too heavy in the act of feeding, 
 each of these animals is furnished with a strong 
 tendinous insensible ligament, braced from the head 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 49 
 
 to the middle of the back, which both enables them 
 to support their burden with ease, and to recover 
 their head at pleasure. 
 
 In the particular construction of the various spe- 
 cies of Quadrupeds, with their several dispositions 
 and appetites, there are several things very remark- 
 able ; but we will only mention a few of them, in 
 which the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, in 
 adapting them so wonderfully to their different si- 
 tuations, habits, and manners of living, are very 
 conspicuous. 
 
 Animals of the graminivorous kinds, such as the 
 Horse, the Ox, and the Sheep, are furnished with 
 masticating organs, adapted to the soft herbage they 
 eat ; being of harmless dispositions, they are only 
 armed with defensive weapons, and for mutual safety 
 associate together in herds 
 
 Those whose natures are fierce and savage, and 
 whose cruel dispositions, like those of the Tiger and 
 Hyena, cannot be satisfied but at the expense of 
 blood, come forth solitary and alone ; but they are 
 armed with fearful claws and horrid tusks, and 
 monstrous jaw^s, wonderfully fitted for the seizure 
 and destruction of Hieir victims. 
 
 The Camel doomed to traverse the parched and 
 .burning deserts of Arabia, where continued drought 
 and ^erility reign, has not only a foot admirably 
 fitted for his element, and endowed with a remark- 
 able abstinence, but carries along with him a natu- 
 ral reservoir which he fills with water at every well. 
 
 F 
 
50 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 The Lama of South America (the only original 
 beast of burden it produces,) is remarkably sure 
 footed, and climbs and descends with the greatest 
 safety the craggy rocks it has to encounter among 
 the rugged steeps and narrow paths of the Andes, 
 though encumbered with its load. 
 
 Goats range the craggy steep, and delight to crop 
 the uncultivated heath from the mountain's brow ; 
 and behold how admirably their hollow hoofs are 
 formed for taking hold of the rock, and with what 
 surprising agility they bound from cliff to cliff! 
 
 Animals of the Weasel kind, that live chiefly in 
 holes, and feed upon vermin, are not only furnished 
 with furs to preserve them from the damp, but have 
 long, slender, flexible bodies, well adapted for their 
 various windings. The Sea-horse of the Northern 
 Ocean, whose element is sometimes in the water, 
 and sometimes on the ice, is not only web-footed, 
 to assist in swimming, but has two monstrous tusks, 
 bending down from the upper jaw, which, together 
 with his claws, enable him to scramble up the icy 
 beach at pleasure. In short, the Mole is moulded 
 in the best possible manner for his subterraneous 
 habitation the Squirrel for his aerial flights the 
 Kangaroo for his tremendous leaps-^and the Bat, 
 which unites the Quadruped with the Volatile race, 
 is shaped in the most convenient manner for his 
 predatory excursions. 
 
 But if this remarkable accommodation of the 
 parts and appetites of quadrupeds to their habits 
 and pursuits, is apt to excite our surprise, what must 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 51 
 
 we think of those still more surprising and remark- 
 able instincts by which many of them are distin- 
 guished. In their internal formation some of this 
 order are so strikingly analogous to the human 
 body, that it is said, some skill in physiology is ne- 
 cessary to be able to notice the difference ; and in 
 the external appearance of the Orang-outang, or 
 Wild -man of the Woods, there is certainly no little 
 resemblance. So much, indeed, does the external 
 appearance of this creature resemble the human, 
 that " the Negroes imagine them to be a foreign 
 nation, come to inhabit their country, and that they 
 do not speak for fear of being compelled to work." 
 They are also the only animals that imitate man 
 in the use of weapons otherwise than what are na- 
 tural ; frequently attacking their enemies with sticks 
 and stones. That they possess an eminent share of 
 natural sagacity in the absence of reason, is evident 
 from the manner in which they make sheds for shel- 
 ter, and go to sleep in trees for security, as well as 
 from their descending from the mountains, when 
 they no longer find fruits, to the sea shore in search 
 of shell-fish. In the passage of one of these ani- 
 mals from Angola to England, it made many friends 
 on board, and seemed to despise the monkies of a 
 lower species, by avoiding that part of the ship 
 where they were confined. Buffon describes one of 
 these animals which he saw, as sitting down at table, 
 unfolding his napkin, wiping his lips, making use 
 of a fork or spoon, pouring' out his drink into a 
 glass, touching glasses with the person who drank 
 
52 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 with him, giving his hand to shew the company to 
 the door who came to see him, and walk about as 
 gravely as if he formed one of the society. " All 
 these," he observes, " I have seen, without any other 
 instigation than the signs or command of his master, 
 and often of his own accord." He also mentions, 
 that his dep'ortment was grave, his movements re- 
 gular, and his disposition gentle, very different from 
 other apes. Francis Pryard relates, that in the 
 province of Sierra Leone there is a species so strong 
 limbed, and so industrious, that when properly 
 trained and fed, they work like servants. 
 
 But to proceed ; what wonderful prudence, fore- 
 sight, and industry, does the republic of Beavers 
 display, as in a state of social compact, with an over- 
 seer at their head, each exerting his powers and con- 
 tributing his exertions fn raising the mole, and form- 
 ing with care the fortified settlement ! What sa- 
 gacity does the Elephant discover, as he discharges 
 the water from his mighty trunk, in order to cool 
 himself in the midst of the burning plains of Caf- 
 fraria ! 
 
 Who knows not the affectionate tenderness of the 
 Dog, the mischievous cunning of the Monkey, the 
 inflexible perseverance of the Cat, in watching her 
 prey, and the subtle artifices of the Hare, in elud- 
 ing her pursuers ? 
 
 The Lion, at whose tremendous roar creation flies, 
 as if knowing the terror which his fearless form in- 
 spires, has recourse to cunning, and watches his 
 prey in ambush, in the neighbourhood of those 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 53 
 
 springs and waters to which they must necessarily 
 come to quench their thirst. The Bear, in autumn, 
 betakes himself to his winter quarters, nor ventures 
 abroad till spring has again renewed the face of the 
 earth. The Chamois Goat, when closely pursued in 
 his mountainous retreat, will suddenly rebound on 
 the huntsman, and precipitate him over the rock. 
 The Hedge-hog in winter wraps himself up in his 
 mossy seat. The Porcupine when almost overtaken 
 in the pursuit, on a sudden rolls himself up, and 
 presents to his antagonist, instead of a delicious 
 morsel, a ball of prickles : and the Armadillo, ac- 
 tuated by the same unerring impulse, joins his ex- 
 tremities beneath his shelly covering, and rolls over 
 the precipice unhurt, to the confusion of his ene- 
 my. But this is not all ; Horses in a state of na- 
 ture are not only said to keep a centinel on the look- 
 out, but, when attacked, join heads together and 
 fight with their heels. Oxen in a similar state join 
 tails together, and fight with their horns. Swine 
 get together in impenetrable herds to resist an at- 
 tack, and what is observable in all, they place the 
 young in the middle, and keep them safe in the day 
 of battle ! 
 
 These are some of the wonders of instinct ; and 
 can we behold them without admiration ! 
 
 The Uses of Quadrupeds 
 
 Are so various, that we must content ourselves 
 with only naming a few of them. Of what great 
 
54- BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 utility for the purposes of agriculture, travelling, 
 industry, and commerce, is that docile and tractable 
 animal the Horse ! In what a variety of ways do 
 those of the Ox and Sheep kind administer to our 
 wants ! and. happily for the world, these creatures 
 are most extensively diffused, from the polar circle 
 to the equator. 
 
 Goats, in many of the mountainous parts of Eu- 
 rope, constitute the wealth of the inhabitants : they 
 lie upon their skins, convert their milk into cheese 
 and butter, and feed upon their flesh. The Rein- 
 deer, to the inhabitants of the icy regions, supply 
 the place of the horse, the cow, the sheep, and the 
 goat. The Camel is to the Arabian what the Rein- 
 deer is to the Laplander. The flesh of the Elk is 
 palatable and nutritious, and of his skin the Indians 
 make snow-shoes and canoes. The Elephant, in 
 warm countries, is useful as a beast of burden, and 
 draws as much as six horses. 
 
 What an unwearied pattern of unremitting exer- 
 Xion arid fidelity is that invaluable animal the shep- 
 herd's Dog ! What humane and excellent life pre- 
 servers, the Newfoundland species ! and what sa- 
 gacious guides and safe conductors are that useful 
 breed, trained in the Alpine solitudes, to carry pro- 
 visions to the bewildered traveller, and lead his steps 
 to the hospitable convent ! 
 
 To what a number of depredators would our sub- 
 stance be exposed, were it not for that convenient 
 and agile, but often ill-fated domestic animal, the 
 Cat ; which, in consequence of an ill-founded pre- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 55 
 
 judice excited against her for those very habits and 
 propensities which render her valuable, and were 
 implanted in her nature for the fTest of purposes, 
 often becomes the victim of unfeeling boys, and of- 
 ten, too often, alas ! is made the sport of more un- 
 feeling barbarians, who deserve not the name of 
 men. The Ichneumon is to the Egyptians, in se- 
 veral respects, what the Cat is to us ; but far from 
 thinking of hanging her up in a barrel, and amusing 
 themselves with her sufferings, that more grateful 
 people have worshipped the Ichneumon as an ema- 
 nation of the Deity ! Cannot our more sober- 
 minded countrymen adopt a conduct between the 
 two extremes, and at least treat the purring race 
 with kindness? Animals of the Weasel kind fur- 
 nish us with a number of rich and valuable furs ; 
 the Civet, the Genet, and the Musk, with a supply 
 of perfumes ; the tusks of the Elephant, arid the 
 Seahorse with ivory ; the beautiful skin of the Tiger 
 decorates the seats of justice of the mandarins of 
 the East ; the flesh of the White Bear is eaten by 
 the Greenlancler, that of the Leopard is much re- 
 lished by the African ; and the Lion, even the Lion, 
 the living tomb of so many creatures, is frequently 
 eaten by the Negroes at the last ! 
 
 We have reason to be thankful that in our happy 
 country we are abundantly supplied with food of a 
 more harmless nature, and much easier to be ob- 
 tained than those formidable monsters of the desert, 
 and that when taking a solitary ramble through 
 our peaceful fields, we have no occasion to adopt 
 
#6 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 the following sentiments of the poet, so feelingly 
 
 expressed : 
 
 
 
 " What if the Lion in his rage I meet? 
 
 Oft in the dust I view his printed feet; 
 
 By hunger rous'd, he scours the groaning plain, 
 
 Gaunt Wolves and sullen Tigers in his train ; 
 
 Before them Death with .shrieks directs their way, 
 
 Fills the wild yell, and leads them to their prey." 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 ON THE VARIETIES OF ANIMALS. 
 
 To all has Nature given a bound precise 
 Of being and perfection ; and promulg'd 
 To every varying rank, her varying laws ; 
 Urging to this, from that restraining firm." 
 
 IN the science of natural history, philosophers 
 have found it expedient to arrange objects first un- 
 der a few grand divisions, and then to divide, and 
 afterwards subdivide these in the following manner. 
 The most general divisions are called Classes ; each 
 class is again divided into several lesser parts, which 
 are called Orders; each order contains a certain 
 number of Genera ; each genus consists of several 
 Species; and each species contains certain Varieties, 
 which is the smallest subdivision that they have 
 taken notice of. It is this lowest link of their chain 
 of classification which will form the subject of the 
 present chapter. 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 57 
 
 It is unnecessary for us to enter deeper into this 
 system of classification than merely to point out the 
 distinguishing circumstance that they have laid hold 
 on to mark the boundaries between what they call 
 a species and a variety; and this will be the easiest 
 done by choosing a familiar example for illustra- 
 tion. The horse and the ass are both of the same 
 genus of quadrupeds; and they resemble each other 
 so much, that they might well be mistaken for be- 
 ings of the same species ; but although it be found 
 that it is possible to make them procreate, yet it is 
 also known that the mule, which is produced from 
 this intermixture, is not capable of continuing its kind, 
 which circumstance induces naturalists to rank them 
 as a different species. When animals procreate to- 
 gether, and produce an offspring that is capable of 
 continuing their kind, however different they may 
 be in their appearance and other particulars, they 
 are accounted as only varieties of the same species; 
 nor is there any criterion that we know of, for dis- 
 tinguishing a variety of any particular kind of ani- 
 mal from a distinct species of the same genus, but 
 that of producing a fertile or an unfertile progeny. 
 In this particular, we believe, all naturalists are 
 agreed. 
 
 That there are many varieties of most species of 
 animals is well known ; and as many of these va- 
 rieties, especially among domesticated animals, rea- 
 dily intercopulate with each other, and produce a 
 mixed race, participating of the qualities of both 
 parents, it necessarily must happen, that in cases 
 
58 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 where they are suffered to mix together, the de- 
 scendants of an animal of one of these varieties is 
 very different from that of the parent race. This 
 fact having been remarked, has given rise to an opi- 
 nion, that there has been originally but one pair of 
 animals of each species, and that all the varieties we 
 now discover of the same species, have been pro- 
 duced by accidental circumstances only, such as a 
 variation of climate, of food, or of some other ex- 
 traneous peculiarity ; and that, of course, one va- 
 riety may. be transmuted into another without any 
 intermixture of blood, purely by a change of cir- 
 cumstances only. This doctrine being once ad- 
 mitted, the inferences which necessarily result from 
 it, have proved highly detrimental to the practice 
 of individuals in their attempts to improve the breed 
 of domestic animals ; as it tends, in as far as that 
 doctrine is believed, to turn the attention of men 
 from fixed and certain principles, which admit of no 
 variation, to others that are vague and erroneous, 
 which tend only to puzzle and confound the mind, 
 and leave it in perpetual darkness and uncertainty. 
 
 The boldest asserter of the doctrine, that all the 
 varieties of every species of animal are derived from 
 one common stock, is the celebrated Buffon, who, 
 instead of searching for proofs to support his hypo- 
 thesis, contents himself with mere assertions, uttered 
 with as much confidence as if the matter had been 
 before proved beyond a possibility of doubt; and 
 he takes as the subject for his illustration the dog 
 kind, though the varieties of this species are more 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 59 
 
 distinctly njarked than those of perhaps any other 
 animal with which we are intimately acquainted. 
 He says, that the shepherd^s dog (a variety of the 
 canine species, by the bye, which cannot be so dis- 
 tinctly recognized as many other kinds,) ^s the ori- 
 ginal stock from which the greyhound, the spaniel, 
 the pointer, the harrier, the bull -dog, the lap-dog, 
 the mastiff, the terrier, and every other variety, are 
 all directly produced ; and he even goes so far as to 
 specify the means that are necessary to be adopted 
 for producing these changes. It is painful to dwell 
 upon the accidental failings of a man of genius ; for 
 which reason we decline following him in his ex- 
 cursive career, and exposing the absurdities into 
 which he has fallen in pursuing.it. We have only 
 to regret, that a man of such distinguished talents 
 should have so far overlooked facts that were easily 
 within his reach, as to have so positively dogmatised 
 upon this subject in direct contradiction to them ; 
 for the multitude, who think not at all, follow the 
 authority of one who is, on many accounts, so re- 
 spectable, without the smallest degree of hesitation. 
 In consequence of this great authority, the hypo- 
 thesis above stated has been tacitly, at least, assent- 
 ed to by the literary world in general, for some time 
 past, though it will not require great exertions to 
 "bring such evidence, as we hope will prove satis- 
 factory to every reader, to shew that the fact is di- 
 rectly the reverse of what this learned philosopher 
 has stated it to be. 
 
60 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 If it were true, that a change of climate affected 
 an animal to such a degree as this hypothesis sup- 
 poses, it would be impossible that any person exist- 
 ing should not have had opportunities of observing 
 very striking instances of that kind. But, instead 
 of this, the most direct proofs of the contrary must 
 have fallen within the observation of every man in 
 the kingdom, in respect to the very animal that he 
 has selected for illustration. The dog is a favoured 
 domestic ; he attaches himself to his master, and 
 follows him wherever he goes. He is thus carried 
 through all the climates of the globe, under the im- 
 mediate controul and inspection of man; and no 
 instance hath ever been known in which an indivi- 
 dual dog has ever Jhus experienced any material 
 change in his external form, far less in his internal 
 qualities. If a smooth-haired Spanish pointer, for 
 instance, be carried to the torrid or the frozen zone, 
 from Kamtschatka through the whole extent of 
 Asia and Europe into America, he is the same 
 smooth-haired dog every where ; and his master 
 recognizes him for the same creature at the first 
 glance : but if the pile of its hair and external ap- 
 pearance be not altered, far less is the animal 
 changed in its other qualities : it still scents the 
 game in the way peculiar to that kind of dog ; it 
 does not, like the greyhound, pursue it by the eye ;* 
 it does not, like the hound, burst forth in sonorous 
 howling when it feels the scent strong : this variety 
 of the dog kind steals upon its prey with extreme 
 caution and circumspection. These qualities it pos- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 61 
 
 sessed at its birth, and these qualities it retains till 
 its dying hour, in spite of any change of climate 
 or kind of food it may be made to experience. The 
 same thing may be said of every other kind of dog. 
 The English bull dog. displayed the same uncon- 
 querable obstinacy on the arena of ancient Rome > 
 as he does at this day in the island which gave him 
 birth: and the Newfoundland dog of the present 
 day is equally gentle, equally attached to his mas- 
 ter, and alike firm in his defence in every part of 
 Europe as in America. In sho'rt, the universal ex- 
 perience of mankind incontrovertibly proves, that 
 the same individual dog continues the same in re- 
 gard to all its essential characteristics in every re- 
 gion of this globe, and under every different system 
 of management. He may be rendered fatter or 
 leaner, diseased or sound, and these variations of 
 management will produce a temporary change in 
 his appearance ; but no evidence was ever known 
 of a dog of one kind being converted into one of 
 another sort. The terrier continues to ferret out 
 the lesser animals with silent assiduity ; the lap dog 
 to bark at every thing that moves ; the pointer re- 
 tains his quick sense of smelling; the greyhound 
 searches, for his prey by the eye in every region 
 alike ; so that there is no reason to doubt that every 
 kind of dog, considered individually, retains the 
 same faculties unchanged throughout the whole 
 course of its life, to whatever changes of food or 
 climate it may be subjected. 
 
 Gr 
 
62 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 But if the individual itself remain unchanged 
 under every possible variation, how are we to con- 
 ceive that a change in this respect can affect the 
 progeny ? Can any one believe that if a greyhound 
 bitch, while with young, were allowed to bring forth 
 her litter in one place (in Britain suppose, the place 
 of her nativity,) she would produce true grey- 
 hounds, but if she were carried to Norway, the lit- 
 ter would turn out to be mastiffs; in Turkey long- 
 haired pointers ; and in other countries hounds, 
 terriers, and all the other varieties of dogs? At 
 the bare mention of such a position the mind revolts 
 from it, as from a self-evident absurdity : but if the 
 litter were not brought forth in these states in dif- 
 ferent climates, the puppies must be changed in- 
 stantaneously after they come into the world ; for, 
 as we have seen, they are not changed by it at any 
 other period of their life, it must be now that the 
 change is effected, (like tadpoles into frogs,) or 
 never. But who has ever heard of such a meta- 
 morphoses ? We all know that no such thing takes 
 place. Yet this, and more, must have happened 
 were there the smallest foundation for this hypo- 
 thesis These changes must have happened not 
 once only, but often ; not casually, but invariably; 
 of course it would have been utterly impossible to 
 propagate a greyhound in one country, or a beagle 
 in the other; in short, every country would have 
 had its own particular variety of dogs, and none 
 other. But this we know is contradicted by the 
 clearest facts, and the universal experience of man- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 63 
 
 kind ; and it must appear to be not a little surpris- 
 ing to those who reflect upon it, that an hypothesis 
 which is, under every point of view, so absurd, 
 should ever have obtained currency for one moment 
 among men who had their eyes open, and were not 
 deprived of the power of reasoning. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 BIRDS. 
 
 { < But who the various nations can declare, 
 
 That plough with busy wing the peopled air ? 
 
 These cleave the crumbling bark for insect food ; 
 
 Those dip the crooked beak in kindred blood ; 
 
 Some haunt the rushy moor, the lonely woods ; 
 
 Some bathe their silver plumage in the floods." 
 
 THE Ostrich, the Emu, and the Cassowary, are 
 not only remarkable, by reason of their superiority of 
 size, but seem to claim our first attention among the 
 feathery tribes, on account of their constituting some 
 of those apparent links, by which the winged tribe 
 is united to the order of Quadrupeds, For although 
 these animals resemble birds in the outline, and in 
 several parts of their conformation, they certainly 
 cannot be classed among the more perfect orders of 
 the species, in as much as they do not make use of 
 their wings for the purpose of flying ; and as to in- 
 ternal formation, the Ostrich is said to have as great 
 a resemblance to the tour-footed as to the volatile 
 order. 
 
64 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 The structure of these creatures, as well as their 
 appetites, is 'however well adapted for the situations 
 in which they are severally placed, and they appear 
 to know well how to supply the defect of some of 
 their members by the use which they make of others. 
 
 Of all animals that move on their legs, the Os- 
 trich is by far the swiftest ; and although the Ara- 
 bians train their fleetest horses for the chase, it is 
 not likely they would be successful in the pursuit of 
 this animal, were it not for his circling manner of 
 running. Nor is this surprising, when we consider 
 that this lofty mass of light materials is not only 
 carried forward by his long springing legs, but is 
 impelled along by his wings, which he keeps in con- 
 stant motion, and apparently serve the purpose of 
 oars. 
 
 The Emu, or Ostrich of the new continent, is also 
 a remarkably swift runner, but its manner of assist- 
 ing its legs is somewhat different from the former ; 
 besides making use of something behind, like a heel, 
 to push it forward, this animal uses a kind of action 
 peculiar to itself, first lifting up one wing and keep- 
 ing it elevated for some time in form of a sail, then 
 letting it drop and elevating the other ; by this 
 means it moves along with such rapidity, that even 
 the Greyhound can seldom overtake it. The fa- 
 vourite climate of the Cassowary seems to begin 
 where that of the Ostrich terminates, in the old 
 world ; and although its wings are so very small^ 
 that being covered with the hair on the back they 
 are scarcely perceptible, it kicks up behind with the 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. ' 65 
 
 one leg, and then making a bound forward with the 
 other, proceeds with such amazing speed, that the 
 swiftest racer would be unable to maintain the pur- 
 suit ! 
 
 In the structure of Birds of the more perfect order, 
 a few things demand our most serious attention : 
 
 The whole body is 'shaped in the most convenient 
 manner for making their way through the air ; be- 
 ing, as Mr. Ray observes, constructed very near Sir 
 Isaac Newton's form of least resistance. According 
 to Bar, in his continuation of Buffon, " It is neither 
 extremely massive nor equally substantial in all its 
 parts ; but, being designed to rise in the air, is capa- 
 ble of expanding a large surface without solidity. 
 The body is sharp before, to pierce and make its 
 way through that element; it then gradually in- 
 creases in, bulk, till it has acquired its just dimen- 
 sions, and falls off in an expansive tail." 
 
 The motion of this order being two-fold, walking 
 and flying, they are provided with legs at once 
 wonderfully contrived to walk with, and raise them 
 like a spring for their flight ; wings to buoy them 
 up and waft them along ; and a tail to keep them 
 steady in the air, assist them in their evolutions, 
 and to direct their course. 
 
 Although their feathery covering is admirably 
 constructed for lightness and buoyancy, their wings 
 are furnished with a strength that is amazing ; so 
 that the flap of a Swan's wing has been known to 
 break a man's leg: and a similar blow from an Ea- 
 gle has produced instant death ; and by these they 
 G 2 
 
66 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 are enabled to impel themselves forward with a ra- 
 pidity that exceeds the fleetest quadruped. To fit 
 them the better for their flight, the feathers are dis- 
 posed in the most perfect order, lying one way; and 
 that they may glide more smoothly along, they are 
 furnished with a gland situated on the rump, from 
 which they occasionally press out oil with the bill, 
 and anoint the feathers. In water-fowl this oil is so 
 plentiful, that by it their plumage is rendered com- 
 pletely water-proof. 
 
 The beak, or bill of birds, is a curiout piece of 
 art, formed of a hard horny substance, constructed 
 in the most commodious manner for piercing the 
 air. Their ears stand not out from their head to 
 retard their flight, while their eyes are placed in 
 such situations as to take in nearly a hemisphere on 
 either side. 
 
 Birds have no teeth to chew their food ; but those 
 of the granivorous kind are provided with two- sto- 
 machs ; in one of which the victuals are softened and 
 macerated before they enter the other to be com- 
 pletely digested. Being often employed in travers- 
 ing the upper regions, where they behoved to be 
 much incommoded did they bring forth their young 
 in the manner of quadrupeds, their manner of gene- 
 rating is wisely made to differ, and their offspring 
 are produced by means of eggs In the speedy 
 growth of yeung birds, by which they acquire a 
 degree of strength and size to be able so soon to pro- 
 vide for themselves, we have also an instanced the 
 tender care of Providence. 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 67 
 
 What power unseen inspires these little creatures 
 with " the passion of the groves," at the most fit 
 season for forming their alliances wben^ the 'genial 
 temper of the weather covers the trees with leaves, 
 the fields with grass, and produces such swarms of 
 insects for the support of their future progeny ! And 
 how comes it to pass, that no sooner is the connubial 
 league formed than those little warblers (a pattern to 
 new-married couples in humble life, who have no- 
 thing 'but their own industry to depend on,) imme- 
 diately set about building their nests, and making 
 preparations for their tender offspring ! 
 
 In the building of their nests, what art and inge- 
 nuity are displayed ! Whether they are constructed 
 from the collected portions of clay and mortar, or 
 from the more light materials of moss and straw, 
 these little creatures contrive to mould them into the 
 most convenient forms, and to give them a durabi- 
 lity proportionate to their wants. 
 
 " It wins my admiration, 
 
 To view the structure of that little work, 
 A bird's nest ; mark it well within, without, 
 No tool had he that wrought, no knife to cut, 
 No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert, 
 No glue to join ! his little beak was all ! 
 And yet how neatly finish'd." 
 
 Nor is the wonder less, that birds of the same 
 kind, however widely separated, should all follow 
 the same order of architecture in the construction 
 
68 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPES. 
 
 of their habitations ; that each should make choice 
 of the situation most suitable to its kind. 
 
 " Some to the rude protection of the thorn 
 Commit their feeble offspring ; the cleft tree 
 Offers its kind concealment to a few ; 
 Their food its insects, and its moss their nest. 
 But most in woodland solitudes delight." 
 
 And that all should agree in laying as many eggs 
 as to be sufficient to keep up their species, yet no 
 more than they can conveniently hatch and bring up. 
 
 In the incubation with what patience do these 
 creatures set on their eggs when necessary, till the 
 young are ready to be hatched, and then how 
 officious in assisting the little prisoners to escape ! 
 With what inimitable care do they afterwards watch 
 over and provide for the brood until it is capable of 
 doing for itself ; and with what scrupulous exactness, 
 during this period, do they distribute to each his al- 
 lotted portion of food. 
 
 " What is this Mighty Breath, ye sages say, 
 That in a powerful language, felt, not heard, 
 
 Instructs the fowls of heaven ? What but GOD, 
 
 Inspiring GOD ! who, boundless Spirit all, 
 And unremitting energy pervades, 
 Adjusts, sustains, and agitates the whole." 
 
 These observations are applicable to the feathery 
 tribe in general ; but if we turn to the peculiarities 
 of a few of the different species, we shall observe 
 that the wisdom and the goodness of the Deity are 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN, 69 
 
 no less conspicuous. The Ostrich, formed to tra- 
 verse the burning sands of Africa, is long legged, 
 light, and amazingly agile. Denied the natural re- 
 servoir of the Camel, it is endowed with such an 
 abstinence from water, that the Arabs assert that it 
 never drinks ! and as it may roam many hundreds 
 of miles in quest of vegetation, it seems to have an 
 appetite for almost every kind of food. So that 
 there is no desert, however barren, but what pos- 
 sesses sufficiency to supply these creatures with pro- 
 visions, for they eat almost any thing. Glass, stones, 
 irODj &c. have been found in their stomachs ; and it 
 is affirmed, that in one was found a piece of stone 
 that weighed upwards of a pound. 
 
 The Condor of America, is said to be the largest 
 bird endowed with flight; and being of the rapa- 
 cious kind, is armed with a beak so strong as to 
 pierce the hide of an ox. 
 
 The Eagle, the most noble of rapacious volatiles, 
 has a tasje too nice for carrion ; and in order that 
 he may secure his living prey, and bear it in safety 
 to his nest in the inaccessible cliff. Nature has en- 
 dowed him with the faculty of vision in an eminent 
 degree, prodigious claws, amazing strength, and a 
 profusion of feathers down to his very toes. 
 
 The Vulture delights in carrion and putridity ; 
 and this excellent anatomist may at once be distin- 
 guished from the Eagle by the nakedness of his neck 
 and head, as well as that acute sense of smelling, by 
 which, according to Herodotus, he can smeli a dead 
 carcase at the distance of fifteen thousand paces. 
 
70 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 How admirably formed are the eyes of the birds 
 of night for seeing better when the sun is below than 
 above the horizon. Those of the poultry kind are 
 not furnished with hooked bills and formidable ta- 
 lons, or wings calculated for long flights ; and while 
 the solitary Eagle or Hawk pay us a transient visit, 
 unaccompanied and alone, these surround our dwell- 
 ings in numerous flocks. Those of the Grouse kind, 
 who feed on moor-berries and the tops of heath plants, 
 have their habitations assigned them in the most bar- 
 ren and uncultivated tracts where their favouritefood 
 abounds The hooked bill of the Parrot is well 
 contrived to assist him in climbing. Ducks, Geese, 
 and many others, have long broad bills to enable 
 them to grope for their food in water and mud ; on 
 the contrary, a thick, short, and sharp edged bill, is 
 as necessary to those who have occasion to husk 
 and flay the grain they swallow. The Wood-peck- 
 er's bill is sufficiently strong to dig holes ; that of 
 the Swallow is slender and sharp pointed, and he 
 is also furnished with a very wide mouth, to enable 
 him to catch the winged insect in its flight; and the 
 ease with which Sea pies raise their favourite food 
 from the rocks, by means of their long, narrow, and 
 compressed bills, is astonishing. Even Limpets, 
 which adhere so firmly to the rocks, as not to be ea- 
 sily separated by a knife, these birds find no diffi- 
 culty to raise with the instrument Nature has pro- 
 vided them with for the purpose. 
 
 The long legs and necks of birds of the Crane 
 kind, together with their sharp pointed bills, are 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 71 
 
 wonderfully adapted for the purpose of wading and 
 picking up their food from the bottom of the shal- 
 lows; and the webbed feet, oily feathers, and broad 
 bills of those of the Swan kind, are equally so, to 
 enable them to swim along, and lay hold of their 
 prey in the watery element. 
 
 The Pelican of the wilderness is a most dexterous 
 fisher, and nature has provided him with a prodigi- 
 ous pouch, of a singular construction, under his bill, 
 which, although scarcely perceptible when empty, 
 enables him when full to bear ashore as many fish 
 at a time as would suffice sixty men for dinner The 
 Albatross, the most formidable of the Gull kind, 
 preys not only on fish, but water fowl of an inferior 
 size; and his bill terminates in a crooked point, by 
 which he is enabled to lay hold of them on the wing. 
 The Penguin seldom leaves the water ; and while 
 others of the feathery . race only skim its surface, 
 pursues his prey to the greatest depth, and he ap- 
 proaches the finny tribe in his formation as well as 
 in his disposition and ha-bits. Indeed, these animals 
 may be justly reckoned one of the connecting links 
 between the volatile and finny tribes, as not only 
 their fin-like wings and broad webbed feet, but their 
 body being covered more warmly all over with fea- 
 thers than any other bird whatever, and the parti- 
 cular construction of their lungs, all tend to shew 
 that water is their principal element 
 
 How wonderful the migration of birds ! or that 
 surprising instinct by which " the stork in the hea- 
 vens knoweth her appointed times/' " and the crane 
 
72 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 and the swallow observe the time of their coming." 
 When Storks take their departure for Europe, it is 
 said they all assemble on a particular day, decamp 
 during the night, and leave not a single one of their 
 company behind. Now what power unseen com- 
 mands them to this general assembly, directs them 
 in their course, orders them to halt as occasion re- 
 quires, and then to renew their flight till they ar- 
 rive at the exact point of their destination ? 
 
 Who bids the Stork, Columbus-like, explore 
 Heavens not his own, and worlds unknown before? 
 Who calls the council, states the certain day? 
 Who forms the phalanx, and who points the way ?" 
 
 " Where do the Cranes, or winding Swallows go, 
 Fearful of gathering winds and falling snow ? 
 If into rocks or hollow creeks they creep, 
 In temporary death confined to sleep ; 
 Or, conscious of the coming evil, fly 
 To milder regions and a southern sky r" 
 
 Birds in the torrid zone, where their nests, other- 
 wise situated, would be exposed to the assaults of 
 the snake when he twines up the trunk, or the de- 
 predations of the ape, suspend them at the point of 
 a bough, or the extreme branches of the trees; and 
 some, as the Taylor-bird, not content with that pre- 
 caution, attach their nests to the side of a leaf. The 
 expertness of this little .bird, at the profession from 
 whence it derives its name, is admirable. When 
 it has picked up a dead leaf, it sews it to the side of 
 a living one, its slender bill being its needle, and its 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID GPEN. 73 
 
 thread some fine fibres; the lining is composed of 
 feathers, gossamer, and down The Eagle con- 
 structs her habitation among inaccessible rocks, 
 where it is shielded by projecting craigs; and the 
 Flamingo builds her nest in the middle of an ex- 
 tensive morass, beyond the reach of danger. 
 
 *' From man retir'd, amid the lonely marsh, 
 Flamingoes build and tend their curious nest." 
 
 What sagacity does the Vulture display as he sits 
 silent and unseen in the American forest, watching 
 the operations of the monstrous Crocodile, while she 
 deposits her eggs in the sand on the banks of the 
 river! The little Butcher-bird, that attacks crea- 
 tures four times bigger than himself, seizes its vie- 
 tims by the throat, and strangles them in an instant; 
 and, as if conscious of its inability otherwise to sepa- 
 rate the food it has so secured, contrives to spit it 
 on a neighbouring thorn, and then pulls it pieces 
 with its bill The solitary Owl takes up its station 
 in the corner of a barn at the approach of night, 
 and with inflexible perseverance watches its prey. 
 The Magpie is noted for its singular cunning Bus- 
 sards are said to keep a sentinel on the look-out to 
 apprize them of danger. The Partridge acts with 
 the greatest subtlety, in order to decoy away a dog 
 or other animal when he approaches her nest ; and 
 the affection of the Hen for her tender brood is such, 
 that for their protection she will attack the hog or 
 the mastiff, and even not hesitate to fly at the ftrs 
 
 H 
 
74 BOOK OF tfATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 What animal evinces more courage than the Cock, 
 as he struts in sovereignty on his favourite dunghill ? 
 The facility with which Parrots are taug t to speak, 
 and retain and repeat a number of words is truly 
 surprising Cormorants in China are trained for 
 the purposes of fishing; and Hawks, in other coun- 
 tries for fowling; and the Carrier Pigeon performs 
 his lengthened embassy with unerring precision, 
 and with astonishing celerity Thevenot says, they 
 commonly travel from Aleppo to Alexandria in Sy- 
 ria in six hours, which is a distance of eighty-eight 
 miles The letters are generally fastened under 
 their wings In order to ascertain with some de- 
 gree of accuracy the speed of these curious birds, a 
 gentleman, some years ago, sent a carrier pigeon from 
 London to a friend at Bury St Edmunds, desiring 
 it to be thrown up at a particular time two days 
 after its arrival ; this was attended to, and the pigeon 
 returned to the Bull Inn, Bishopsgate-street, two 
 hours and a half afterwards, having in that time tra- 
 velled seventy two miles Even the stupid Ostrich, 
 as it may be called in other respects, is not so desti- 
 tute of natural affection and instinctive cunning as 
 some are apt to imagine; for if she more frequently 
 leaves her eggs than other birds, it is only in those 
 hot climates where there is no necessity for constant 
 incubation ; and if she thrusts her head in the sand, 
 when every chance of escape is at an end, it is no 
 less certain that she contrives to prolong the chace 
 and distance her pursuer, by occasionally lowering 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 75 
 
 one of her wings, aud disappointing him with a 
 mouthful of feathers. 
 
 The Uses of Volatilcs. 
 
 The uses of the poultry kind, especially of such as 
 are domesticated, are too obvious to be enumerated; 
 it may, however, be remarked, that the common 
 Hen, if well supplied with food and water, is said 
 to lay sometimes two hundred eggs in a year; and 
 the fecundity of the Pigeon in its domestic state is 
 so great, that from a single pair, near fifteen thou- 
 sand may be produced in four years. 
 
 The flesh of the .Grouse kind is esteemed for its 
 delicacy; the Peacock, in some countries, is consi- 
 dered as a luxury; and although it is in a great mea- 
 sure for his singular plumage that man has been 
 tempted to follow the Ostrich in his desert retreat, 
 some of the African tribes are very fond of his flesh, 
 and even the Romans appear to have considered it a 
 dainty; for it is recorded of Heliogabalus, that he 
 had the brains of six hundred of these animals, at a 
 feast, served up in one dish! He should immediately 
 after partaking of that dish, have buried his head in 
 the sand, and been ashamed to resume the erect form 
 of man, whose character he had disgraced. There 
 are, besides, many parts of this animal which are 
 supposed to be very salutary for medicinal purposes, 
 and their strength and swiftness seem to render them 
 very fit for the purposes of travelling or carrying bur- 
 dens; fop Moore relates, that at Joar in Africa, he 
 
76 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN* 
 
 met a man travelling on an Ostrich; and Mr. Adam; 
 son informs us, that when he was at the factory of Po- 
 dore there were two young Ostriches, the strongest 
 of which was much fleeter than the best English 
 race-horse he ever saw, although he at that time 
 carried two negroes on his back. 
 
 If in the feathery tribe some appear to be formed 
 to please us with the beauty of their plumage, as the 
 Goldfinch, the Bullfinch, and the Humming bird ; 
 others, as the Thrush, the Blackbird, and the Ca- 
 nary, delight us with the melody of their song The 
 L*ark soars aloft and salutes the new-born day with 
 his cheerful notes. The Nightingale soothes, the 
 weary labourer as he returns from his daily toil, by 
 his fascinating strains. The little Robin, in return 
 for the protection our fences have afforded him, ex- 
 erts himself to render the hedges vocal, in soft and 
 tender melody; and the Sparrow endeavours to 
 amuse us with her chirpings. 
 
 The Swallow, also, as if sensible of the undisturb- 
 ed possession she has been allowed to take of our 
 premises, during the time of her necessities, catches 
 upon the wing a multitude of flies, gnats, and bee- 
 tles, and frees us from a number of troublesome ver- 
 min before she bids us farewell. Birds of the Rook 
 and Pie kind, although a noisy and chattering tribe, 
 may be of infinitely more use than we have the sense 
 to discover, by the destruction of grubs, worms, and 
 eggs of vermin; and the common carrion crow may 
 be no less necessary in our climate, than the Egyp- 
 tian Vulture and the Ossifrage of Syria. The Vul- 
 
BOOK OF STATURE LAID OPEN. 77 
 
 ture, indeed, is common in many parts of Europe, 
 and abounds in America, Asia, and Africa. In 
 Egypt and other warm countries, he is of singular 
 use. Numerous flocks of them are always hovering 
 in the neighbourhood of Grand Cairo; and for the 
 services the inhabitants experience, by these ani- 
 mals devouring the carrion and filth of that great 
 city, which, in such a sultry climate, would other- 
 wise soon putrify and corrupt the air, they are not 
 permitted to be destroyed. The Ossifrage of the. 
 woods of Syria and Egypt feeds on the dead car- 
 cases of fowls and reptiles. This brings us to say 
 a few words on the use of rapacious fowls^, which 
 may be also applied to wild beasts in general. 
 
 Better perhaps it may appear to the imperfect 
 reasoning of short sighted mortals, that the business 
 of mutual destruction had been avoided in the eco- 
 nomy of nature, and instead of that circuit of prey 
 and devastation which we observe, all animals had 
 been formed to live on vegetable food, and suffered 
 to die a natural death. But, independent of the dif- 
 ficulty that occurs as to how such a number of crea- 
 tures could be fed from the same source, we do not 
 consider the state of suffering to which many of them 
 must necessarily have been exposed, if they had been 
 left to perish by protracted famine, after the decay 
 of their bodily powers rendered them unfit to go in 
 quest of food. Compared with this, is it not a far 
 more happy dispensation that animals are formed 
 for the destruction of each other ? and that (to fol- 
 low -the course of one circle by way of specimen,) 
 
 H2 
 
78 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 tvhile the tree-louse lives on plants, the musca aphi- 
 divora lives upon the tree-louse; the hornet lives 
 upon the musca aphidivora ; the dragon fly on the 
 hornet; the spider on the dragon-fly; the small birds 
 on the spider; and the hawk on the small birds. 
 
 Deprived of reason, the innocent lamb licks the 
 hand raised for its destruction ; and the sufferings 
 which animals feel upon the speedy extinction of 
 the vital spark, must be momentary indeed, in com- 
 parison of the pangs they must have undergone, if 
 they had been left to expire by old age. Indeed, 
 according to this plan, old age would be impossi- 
 ble ; for what would the world soon become were 
 Its numerous tenants so cut off, and the putrid car- 
 cases to lie unburied ? the circumambient air, now 
 the source of life and vitality, must then in a short 
 lime be rendered pestilential, and bearing upon its 
 wings the noxious vapours, deal death and deso- 
 lation with increasing malignity to every climate, 
 until the beautiful theatre of life and activity became 
 one great charnel-house, and the animating flame be 
 for ever extinguished in the awful silence of eternal 
 night. 
 
 Instead, therefore, of finding fault with the mer- 
 ciful dispensations of our all wise Creator, and re- 
 pining that lions and tigers, bears and wolves, ea- 
 gles and vultures, serpents and crocodiles, and vo- 
 racious monsters of the deep of every description 
 exist, let us rather rejoice that wherever the carcase 
 is exposed on the field, there will the vultures be 
 gathered together ; and that, where the lion and 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 79 
 
 Serpent may die in their sequestered retreats, innu- 
 merable vermin, attracted by the scent, will soon 
 find them out, and leave not a vestige of putrifaction 
 behind. 
 
 Before we conclude with the tribe of volatiles, we 
 will just remark, that these are not the only uses for 
 which this order of beings seem to have been created. 
 From the feathery creai'on we may also learn les- 
 sons of wisdom on the most interesting and impor- 
 tant subjects. What an example of conjugal con- 
 stancy and fidelity do we discover in the turtledove! 
 What a pattern of filial affection in the young stork! 
 What a lesson for presumptuous pride have we in 
 the answer of Solon to the monarch of Lydia ! 
 When seated on his magnificent throne, and sur- 
 rounded by all the appendages of external pomp 
 and pageantry, Croesus asked the Greek philoso- 
 pher, if he had ever seen so magnificent a specta- 
 cle : " After having seen the plumage of the Phea- 
 sant, he could not be astonished at the sight of any 
 other finery," was the cool reply ! And what com- 
 fort may we derive, under the vexatious losses and 
 crosses of life, from the argument drawn by our 
 Divine Teacher against sinking under despondency 
 or anxiety : u Behold the fowls of the air ; for they 
 sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: 
 yet our heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not 
 better than they ?> 
 
 " Behold, and look away your low despair; 
 See the light tenants of the barren air ; 
 
80 BOOK OF NATURE LAID 
 
 To them nor stores, nor granaries belong; 
 Nought but the woodland and the pleasing songr 
 Yet, your kind heavenly Father bends his eye 
 On the least wing that flits along the sky/* 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 " Where greatness is to Nature's works deny*<J, 
 In art and beauty it is well supplied : 
 In a small space the more perfection's shown, 
 And what is exquisite in little's done." 
 
 INSECTS have been reckoned by some among 
 the more imperfectly formed of Nature's works; 
 but in this most numerous class of animated beings, 
 where shall we find a single instance in which this is 
 made to appear? In all that prodigious variety 
 that exist between the Scorpion and the Mite, we 
 certainly behold in the structure of insects abundant 
 evidence of the most exquisite skill ; and if by means 
 of the microscope we extend our researches down- 
 wards through that minute order of beings, till we 
 arrive at those invisible animalcules which are com- 
 puted to be twenty-seven millions of times smaller 
 than the mite, the same evidence of wisdom and 
 design present themselves in every gradation, and 
 all ideas of imperfection eease. 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPE^N. 1 
 
 Of all productions in nature, insects are by far the 
 most numerous, and though at first sight herbs of 
 the field seem to be the parts of organized matter 
 produced in the greatest abundance, yet upon mi- 
 nute inspection we find every plant supporting a 
 multitude of creatures scarcely perceptible, that fill up 
 the compass of youth, vigour, and age, in the space 
 of a few days' existence. In Lapland, and some 
 parts of America, insects are said to be so numerous 
 that if a candle is lighted they swarm about it in 
 such multitudes that it is instantly extinguished! 
 As insects are endowed with the various powers of 
 creeping, flying, and swimming, there is scarce any 
 place, however remote and secure, in which they 
 are not to be found. 
 
 It is the infinite number of these invisible animals 
 that makes stagnating waters appear of so many 
 different hues, as green, brown, reddish, &c. 
 
 It is not at all surprising then, that such an accu- 
 rate researcher into Nature's works as the excellent 
 Mr. Boyle, should observe, " that his wonders dwelt 
 not so much on Nature's clocks as her watches." 
 In several kinds of these creatures, invisible before 
 to mortal eyes, it is not only easy to discover, by 
 means of a good magnifier, the external appearance 
 of their mouths, their horns, their trunks, and other 
 members, but the very motion of their heart and 
 lungs ! Now, as it has been remarked, as these 
 little animals are discovered to be organized bodies, 
 how fine and subtile must be the several parts that 
 compose them ! How difficult to conceive the ex- 
 
62 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEtf. 
 
 treme minuteness of the muscles necessary to the 
 heart, the glands for the secretion of the fluids, the 
 stomach and bowels for the digestion of the food, 
 the fineness of the tubes, nerves^ arteries, veins, and 
 above all, of the blood, the lymph, and animal spi- 
 rits, which must be infinitely more so than any of 
 these ! Here the utmost stretch of imagination is 
 brought to the test, without being able to form any 
 adequate conception ; but these inconceivable won- 
 ders, instead of conveying any idea of imperfection, 
 as to the skill of the artist, must, from what they 
 make to appear, inspire the attentive observer with 
 very different emotions, and force him to exclaim, 
 
 " Thyself, how wond'rous then !" 
 
 The beauty and symmetry of some of those mi- 
 nute objects so viewed, are surprising indeed. What 
 a metamorphosis do they seem to undergo under the 
 magic-working glass ! Creatures that before seemed 
 small and despicable, now " appear the pride of 
 nature, wherein she has bestowed more nice and 
 delicate art, and displayed more profusely the rich 
 embroidery and elegant beauties and garniture of 
 colours than in any of the larger species of animals.'' 
 Even the dust that adheres to the butterfly's wing, 
 and to which it owes the beautiful tints and varie- 
 gated hues which adorn it, is said to be an innume- 
 rable collection of extremely small feathers, as per- 
 fect in the structure and symmetry of the arrange- 
 ment, as they are beautiful in the colouring. 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LA.lt> OPftN. 83 
 
 But tliis is not all, the very circumstances adduced 
 as marks of imperfection in the insect tribes, viz. 
 their being enabled to live for some time after being 
 deprived of those organs necessary to life in the 
 higher ranks, and their amazing numbers, ought ra- 
 ther to be considered as arguments to the contrary. 
 
 The former is no doubt essentially necessary to 
 the preservation of a species exposed to so many ca- 
 sualties, as those in particular who live on blood, 
 and cannot, therefore, partake of a meal, without giv- 
 ing their enemies notice of their presence ; and the 
 latter, to prevent the extinction of a short-lived race, 
 which come into existence at a time when there are 
 so many open mouths ready to devour them. 
 
 Without these two characteristic distinctions of the 
 insect tribes, although they may be deemed imper- 
 fections by the more imperfect powers of short sight- 
 ed mortals, it is probable that long ere now some of 
 those exquisite pieces of Nature's workmanship must 
 have disappeared from the creation, and for want of 
 those connecting links, the whole beautiful fabric of 
 the universe must have fallen to decay ; for, trifling 
 as some of those minute or imperceptible objects 
 may appear, the language of philosophy is: 
 
 - " Each crawling insect holds a rank 
 Important in the plan of HIM who frarn'd 
 This scale of heings ; holds a rank, which lont, 
 Would break the chain, and leave a gap 
 That Nature's self would rue." 
 
 Instead, therefore, of having the presumption to 
 stigmatize, in the most remote degree, this particular 
 
84 BOOK OP NATURE LAIS OPEN. 
 
 order of the creatures of the Almighty, as affording 
 evidences of imperfection, let us rather, from similar 
 considerations, adopt the words of the more judi- 
 cious Swammerdam ; t( After an attentive examina- 
 tion," says he, a of the nature and anatomy of the 
 smallest as well as the largest animals, I cannot help 
 allowing the least an equal, or perhaps a superior 
 degree of dignity. If, while we dissect with care 
 the largest Miimals, we are filled with wonder at the 
 elegant disposition of their parts, to what a height is 
 our astonishment raised, when we discover all these 
 parts arranged in the least in the same regular man- 
 ner" And sum up the dispute in the words of ano- 
 ther naturalist : " Of this dispute it is only neces- 
 sary to observe, that the wisdom of the Creator is 
 so conspicuous in all his works, and such surpris- 
 ing art is discovered in the mechanism of the body 
 of every creature, that it is very difficult, if not im- 
 possible, to say where it is most, and where it is 
 least to be observed." 
 
 It is impossible, in the compass of this book, to do 
 any thing like justice to a subject which can never 
 be sufficiently investigated. We will, however, con- 
 sistent with our general plan, notice a few facts and 
 striking peculiarities in this mysterious and numer- 
 ous order of beings, by which it is most distinguish- 
 ed from the others, and in which it will be suffi- 
 ciently evident that insects are also the children of 
 the same common parent, whose wisdom and good- 
 ness are so conspicuous in his other works: 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 85 
 
 In the head of an insect no organization of the 
 brain is said to be discovered, but the want of this is 
 abundantly made up by that medullary thread which 
 communicates the vital principle to the other parts of 
 thejr bodies, and endows them with that tenacity of 
 life, which, as has been already observed, is so use- 
 ful to the species. Neither are they apparently fur- 
 nished with the usual organs of smelling and hearing, 
 but whether the olfactory nerves communicate with 
 the feelers, and the auricular organs are situated in 
 the antenna?, as Mr. Barbutt supposes, or not, there 
 can be no doubt from the readiness of Wasps, 
 Flies, &c. to betake themselves to their wings and 
 fly to dainties at a distance; and the alertness oi Bees 
 in sallying out to the relief of a brother in distress, 
 when he alarms them by his noise outside the hive, 
 that insects are not deficient in the senses of hearing, 
 wherever the organs may be situated. The manner 
 of respiration is different in insects from other ani- 
 mals ; they breathe through pores placed in the sides 
 of their bodies, and this also fits them for that re- 
 markable peculiarity of living in separate parts. In 
 the composition of insects no bones are made use of, 
 but this defect is supplied in some by a membraneous 
 or muscular skin, and in others by a crustaceous or 
 horny covering Their eyes are fixed, and they have 
 no eyebrows, but, to prevent them from injury the 
 latter want is supplied by the external tunic of their 
 eyes being hard and transparent, and to remedy the 
 former, some insects have four, some six, others. %ht, 
 while the number of lenses in some of those who 
 
 i 
 
86 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 have only two is amazing indeed. Flies, wasps, &c. 
 have the outward coat of their eye made of curious 
 lattice-work. Pagett is said to have discovered no 
 fewer than 17,325 lenses in the cornea of a butterfly ! 
 The eyes of insects are admirably adapted for see- 
 ing minute objects nigh at hand, but from the small- 
 ness and convexity of their lenses, it is apparent that 
 they can neither see far, nor take in the larger ob- 
 jects, and to remedy any inconvenience that might 
 arise from this, may have been the principal reason 
 why Nature has furnished them with those project- 
 ing horns or feelers with which they seem to grope 
 as they advance. Insects are also distinguished by 
 the number of their legs and wings; of the latter 
 most insects have four, while no other species of 
 animals have more than two; and although the 
 greater part have six legs, others, as Mites and Spi- 
 ders, have eight, and some ten, fourteen, sixteen, 
 and even a great many more. The palpi are those 
 little instruments fixed to the mouth of some insects, 
 which seem to be intended to serve the purpose of 
 arms, for they employ them to bring food to their 
 mouths, and to keep it steady when eating. Some 
 insects are furnished with stings for defence, or to 
 assist them in procuring their food, others with a tube 
 for injecting: their eggs into the most convenient si- 
 tuations for hatching. The females of some w inged 
 insects, for instance, insert their eggs under the sur- 
 face of leaves, and the worms w r hen hatched, give 
 rise to those tubercles or galls with which the leaves 
 of the ash, the fir, and other trees sometimes abound ; 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 87 
 
 the eggs of the Cynips, inserted into the leaves of the 
 oak, produce the caterpillars, which give rise to the 
 galls used in the composition of ink. The greater 
 part of winged insects have a proboscis or trunk, 
 which although not so large, is as wonderfully con- 
 trived as that of the Elephant, and serves the pur- 
 poses of a mouth, a nose, and a windpipe! The 
 proboscis is a machine of a very complicated nature ; 
 and that of a butterfly, when not in quest of food, is 
 rolled up in form of a watch spring. 
 
 The degree of strength and agility which many of 
 the insect tribes possess is amazing. A ilea will 
 draw a chain one hundred times heavier than itself; 
 and the velocity of a mite, in proportion to its size, 
 is said to outstrip that of a race-horse ! With regard 
 to sex, there is one thing very remarkable in this 
 order, viz. that the Bees, the Wasps, and Ants fur- 
 nish an example of a species that belong to neither 
 sex, and so are called neuters ; these however, are 
 not without their uses ; and the affection they evince 
 for the helpless little creatures left to their care, might 
 serve as a lesson to those who are intrusted with the 
 tender charge of infants not their own. 
 
 The last thing we shall mention in this general 
 survey of the insect tribes, is the wonderful transfor- 
 mations many of them undergo in the different 
 stages of an egg, a grub or worm, a cry sails, till they 
 arrive at their most perfect or fly state. 
 
 " Observe the insect race, ordain 'd to keep 
 The lazy sabbath of a half year's sleep. 
 Entomb'd beneath the filmy web they lie, 
 And wait the influence of a kinder sk v . 
 
BOOK OF KATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 When vernal sunbeams pierce the dark retreat 
 The heaving tomb distends with vital heat ; 
 The full-formed brood, impatient of their cell, 
 Start from their trance, and burst their silken shell." 
 
 In each change not only their form and structure, 
 but their very nature and appetite undergo a com- 
 plete revolution. Take for example, yonder But- 
 terfly? which in gaudy attire, and with a sprightly 
 air, roves and flutters in quest of its balmy juices 
 from flower to flower: how wonderful the change 
 from that dead and inanimate state in which its 
 beauties lately lay concealed, or from the grovelling 
 reptile which on the cabbage-leaf partook voracious- 
 ly of its coarser fare, nor evinced any relish for other 
 dainties. 
 
 If any; thing were wanting to prove the wise dis- 
 position of the parts and appetites of animals to their 
 various situations and habits, here we have it in the 
 instance of the Butterfly, whose structure and taste 
 both undergo an alteration when its sphere of action 
 and propensities become different. 
 
 In regard to some peculiarities of a few of the dif- 
 ferent species of insects, we will briefly observe, that 
 in the mouth of the Gnat we have an admirable 
 specimen of the instrument necessary for such a 
 blood thirsty animal ; the nails or crotchets of the 
 Horse-fly, as well as its tenacity of life, evince that 
 it is apt to be disturbed in its banquets ; whoever 
 attentively considers the form of a Louse, .need not 
 be told that it is a blood-sucker The legs of the 
 Locust and of the Grasshopper at once shew their 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 89 
 
 propensity to leaping. The Bee, in danger of being 
 robbed of its precious stores, is armed with its .well 
 known weapon. -The female Wasp is larger and 
 stronger than the male, to enable her to survive the 
 rigour of winter ; and the strong hairy legs of the Ant 
 are no less well contrived to assist her in the inde- 
 fatigable labours of the hill, than the two claws with 
 which they are armed are for the purpose of climbing. 
 How surprising the instinct by which those little 
 creatures are taught uniformly to deposit their eggs 
 on such animal or vegetable substances, as furnish 
 a proper and plentiful supply of food for the worms 
 or caterpillars, as soon as they are hatched. That 
 those who pass into the Chrysalis or inactive state, 
 select the most proper situations and modes of con- 
 cealment; and that others, whose only metamor- 
 phosis consists in the addition of wings, surround 
 themselves while undergoing the change by an en- 
 velope of spume or froth, proceeding from their bo- 
 dy ; as the Cuckoo spit, or Froth worm. 
 
 " The Locusts have no king, yet they go forth all 
 of them in bands;" while the solitary Spider, having 
 no wings to go to pursuit of her prey, weaveth to 
 herself a web, and watches with patience the en- 
 tanglement of a fly. Our space will not permit us 
 to dwell on the geometrical precision and mathema- 
 tical exactness, with which Bees form their combs ; 
 the wonderful ingenuity and contrivance of the 
 Wasp's nest, or the order and regularity observed 
 in the construction of the Ant hill, as well as the 
 prudence and foresight which the whole of these 
 I 2 
 
90 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 evince in their labours and pursuits ; these, and the 
 singular but convenient attitude which the Water-fly 
 assumes in swimming on his back, to enable him 
 the better to lay hold of his food, the under side of 
 plants which grow on the water, we can only men- 
 tion, and must proceed to consider a few of the 
 
 Uses of Insects. 
 
 From the number of animals in the different ele- 
 ments and regions of existence, which prey upon 
 insects, there can be no doubt but the principal ob- 
 ject the Creator had in view in the formation of these, 
 was for the subsistence of many of the larger orders 
 of creatures; but the following specimens serve to 
 shew that some of these also contribute in no small 
 degree, in their respective spheres, to the service of 
 man. By the labours and exertions of the Bee, we 
 are provided with stores of honey and wax; the 
 seemingly contemptible little Silk-worm presents us, 
 in its passage from the Caterpillar in the sleeping 
 state, with materials for constituting our most costly 
 raiment From the Cantharies come the Spanish 
 Flies, so useful in blisters; the Kermes is also va- 
 luable for medicinal purposes; and the Cochineal 
 furnishes us with a rich and beautiful dye. The 
 wonders accomplished by the united exertions of the 
 Bees, the Wasps, and the Ants, shew what can be 
 done by brethren dwelling together in unity. The 
 watchfulness of the Spider, after she has woven her 
 web, demonstrates the necessity of not folding our 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 91 
 
 hands for slumber just at the time we have comple- 
 ted our preparations for activity; and to the Ant, the 
 sluggard is sent to learn a lesson of prudence and 
 foresight. 
 
 " These emmets, how little they are in our eyes ! 
 We tread them to dust, and a troop of them dies 
 
 Without our regard or concern : 
 Yet, as wise as we are, if we went to their school, 
 There's many a sluggard, and many a fool, 
 
 A lesson of wisdom might learn.'* 
 
 CHAP IX. 
 
 REPTILES. 
 
 ' Lo ! the green Serpent, from his dark abode, 
 Which even imagination fears to tread ; 
 At noon forth issuing, gathers up his train 
 In orbs immense." 
 
 . " Thro' subterraneous cells, 
 
 Where scorching sunbeams scarce can find a way, 
 Earth animated heaves. The flowery leaf 
 Wants not its soft inhabitants." 
 
 IN the order of Reptiles, we have a new display 
 of the wonders of creating art. These creatures are 
 also endowed with the power of motion, but how 
 differently do they move from any of the orders we 
 have already considered Deprived of the usual ap- 
 paratus of legs or wings, the ponderous Serpent is- 
 sues from his concealment, and moves majestically 
 along by means of his scales and strong muscular 
 
92 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 powers ; and the slender Worm draws and pushes 
 himself forward by his rings and contortions. The 
 wisdom in these contrivances must be immediately 
 apparent, when we consider that some of the former 
 have their habitations assigned them in the most im- 
 penetrable thickets, where an elevated stature would 
 expose them to many inconveniences. Some take 
 up their abode in the swampv banks of great rivers, 
 or among the reeds in morasses, where the weight 
 of their body, supported by legs, must have sunk 
 them deeper in the mire ; others wind their way 
 among heaps of rubbish or crumbling ruins, where 
 projecting appendages, of any description, would 
 have been apt to retard their progress ; and the naked 
 and defenceless bodies of the latter are admirably 
 adapted to those subterraneous passages which they 
 form to themselves unseen in the bowels of the earth. 
 
 Snails, also, are a species of Reptiles; but, being 
 encumbered in their movements with their shelly 
 appendage, they are furnished with an instrument 
 peculiar to themselves, in that long, broad surface, by 
 which they pull themselves along ; and by which* 
 assisted by the glutinous substance they emit from 
 their bodies, they aiv enabled to adhere, in any po- 
 sition, to the smoothest of surfaces. 
 
 The motion of Caterpillars in their vermicular 
 state is curiously performed, by means of a number 
 of little legs, the foremost of which are differently 
 constructed from the hindmost, but all are formed 
 in the v most suitable manner for assisting in their 
 progress on the leaves of plants. 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 1) 
 
 Being- deprived of those instruments of motion 
 possessed by other animals, to carry them speedily 
 forward in pursuit of their prey, Serpents are neces- 
 sitated to have recourse to the resources of artifice* 
 and to lie in wait for it ; and, to enable them to do 
 this to the best possible advantage, Nature has not 
 only endowed them with the power of intwining 
 themselves in ambush around the trunks and among 
 the branches of trees, by the slender make and flexi- 
 bility of their bodies, but, by a very particular and 
 singular construction of the back-bone in Serpents, 
 they are enabled to coil themse'ves up in a very 
 small compass. In the generality of animals, the 
 joints in the back-bone do not exceed thirty or forty ; 
 but in the serpent kind they amount to one hundred 
 and forty five from the head to the vent, and twenty- 
 five more from that to the tail. If Serpents are not 
 furnished with the claws of the Tiger to lay hold of 
 their prey, the strong hooked bill and talons of the 
 Eagle to pull it to pieces, and the tusks of the Boat- 
 to devour it, several of this species are furnished with 
 a poisonous sting for instantaneously inflicting the 
 mortal wound, others are soon enabled to extinguish 
 the vital spark by means of the convulsive energy 
 of their enormous twistings ; while the general con- 
 formation of the jaws, the width of the mouth, and 
 yielding texture of the bodies of Serpents are such, 
 as to enable them to swallow prodigious mouthfuls, 
 and animals more bulky than themselves. A Ser- 
 pent in the island of Java was observed at one time 
 to destroy and devour a Buffalo; after having bro- 
 
94 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 ken the bones by its voluminous twistings, it was 
 seen to lick the body all over, which covered it with 
 its mucus, and make it slip more glibly down its 
 throat. 
 
 But the assistance which some of these creatures 
 receive from their poison in the seizing of their prey, 
 is not the o?.!y benefit they derive from it; it is also 
 their most sure and effectual defence ; and from the 
 dread and horror which such an instrument as the 
 sting of .a Serpent inspires, (although only found in 
 the possession of a few,) it serves, as it were, for a 
 safeguard to the whole species. 
 
 Mankind, indeed, cannot tr-erd with too cautious 
 steps the paths frequented by these creatures ; for 
 although none of the most venomous kinds will at- 
 tack man, except on the defensive, yet, without the 
 power of discriminating, when accidently trod upon, 
 they will make the intruder feel the power of their 
 vengeance. What a merciful provision, therefore, 
 has Providence made, for the safety of the American, 
 in the tail of the Rattle-snake, than which there is 
 not one of the serpent tribe more to be dreaded: yet 
 the rattle in his tail, on the smallest motion, must 
 give notice of his approach, or warn the trareller of 
 the impending danger that lies concealed in his 
 haunts. It is a melancholy truth, that the direful 
 effects of the Serpent's poison is not confined to the 
 wounds they themselves inflict, but, as a celebrated 
 naturalist observes, by men more mischievous even 
 than Serpents, who prepare their veuom to destroy 
 each other; with this the savages poison their arrows, 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 95 
 
 and prepare their revengeful poisons. The ancients 
 were known to preserve it for the purposes of sui- 
 cide, and among barbarians the venom of snakes is 
 used as a philter to this day. How much more ho- 
 nourable for human nature when the ingenuity of 
 man is exerted for the preservation of his species* 
 and as Vipers are the only animals of a venomous 
 kind, from whose bite the inhabitants of Great Bri- 
 tain have any thing to fear, the discovery of Wil- 
 liam Oliver, the Viper-catcher at Bath, that the ap- 
 plication of Olive Oil was an effectual cure for the 
 bite of one of these animals, may not be improperly 
 mentioned here, to the honour of that person, who 
 submitted to some dangerous experiments in corro- 
 boration of the truth of this discovery. 
 
 Nor is the care of Providence less observable in 
 the provision made for the security and preservation 
 of the more harmless kinds of reptiles, than for those 
 of a dangerous and venomous description. The 
 naked and tender body of the Earth worm is no 
 doubt pretty securely lodged in the subterraneous 
 vaults it forms for itself in the earth, and the Ser- 
 pent, in the absence of defensive weapons, enjoys no 
 little security in the dread its very form inspires; but 
 slill the former is exposed to many an injury in his 
 lowly situation, and the latter may oft wait long for 
 the approach of his victims ; but the feeble worm, 
 when cut in several parts by the gardener's spade, 
 evinces a remarkable tenacity of the vital powers ; 
 and the voracious Liboya, which can swallow at a 
 raeal an animal three times as thick as itself, at other 
 
96 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 times, when no food presents itself, exhibits an ab- 
 stemiousness that is astonishing. Indeed, a single 
 meal with many of the Snake kind seems to be the 
 adventure of a season ; and is an oceurrence for 
 which they have been lor weeks, nay, sometimes for 
 months, in patient expectation. Vipers are often 
 kept in boxes for six or eight months, without any 
 food whatever ; and there are small Serpents sent 
 over to Europe from Grand Cairo that live for se- 
 veral years without eating. 
 
 The insti.nctive sagacity of an animal, said at first 
 to be more subtile than any beast of the field, and 
 whose wisdom was pointed out by the Saviour of 
 men as being necessary to be united with the harm- 
 lessness of the dove, in the dispositions of his disci- 
 ples, must naturally be expected to be very remark- 
 able, and it certainly is so, whether manifested in 
 the wonderful docility which some of these creatures 
 assume in a state of captivity the dancing serpent, 
 for instance, carried about by jugglers and strollers 
 in the East Indies, will raise their heads and part 
 of their bodies at the sound of music, moving them 
 in such a manner as to keep time with the instru- 
 ment, while their tails continue in a coil at the bot- 
 tom of the basket: the convenient places in which 
 they lie in wait fq^ the approach of their- prey the 
 commodious attitude in which those of the venomous 
 kind put themselves for darting at their victims; or 
 the subtle artifices to which these of the more harm- 
 less kind have recourse in eluding an enemy. Ser- 
 pents the most venomous will suddenly spring up 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 97 
 
 on their tail, at the approach of a larger animal, erect 
 their head, and inflict the deadly wound in a mo- 
 ment; while some of those who are less so, when 
 closely pursued, or excited by rage or fear, will emit 
 a most horrible foetor, in order, as it were, to force 
 the enemy to retire from the pursuit. 
 
 The Black Snake of Virginia lays its eggs in dung- 
 hills or hotbeds, where, aided by the heat of the sun, 
 they are hatched and brought to maturity. The blind 
 worms betake themselves, at the approach of winter, 
 to those secret recesses, where, in a state of torpidity, 
 they are sometimes found in vast numbers twisted to- 
 gether; and the common earth-worm, when warned 
 of danger from the mole, by the moving of the earth, 
 darts upwards to the surface, and is out of his reach 
 in an instant. 
 
 Uses of Reptiles. 
 
 In a former part we noticed the indispensable ne- 
 cessity of animals of prey, and the bad consequences 
 that must have inevitably ensued had the whole of 
 earth's various tenants been left to die a natural death, 
 and their carcases been left to rot unhuried 
 
 Amongst animals of this descripflR we may un- 
 doubtedly reckon the race of Serpents; and whether 
 we consider the fitness of their bodies for entering 
 the dens, and caves, and holes of the earth, or their 
 voracious appetites for such sort of food in common 
 with reptiles of an inferior order, we must certainly 
 allow that they are wonderfully adapted for the pur- 
 it 
 
98 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN, 
 
 pose. This, then, may be one reason, and a very 
 sufficient one too, for the formation of Serpents, that 
 besides helping to rid the earth of a vast number of 
 the smaller obnoxious vermin, they find their way 
 with the greatest ease into the most secret recesses 
 of putrefaction, and destroy those noisome carcases 
 in a short period, to which the other large animals 
 of similar tastes could not, by the peculiar structure 
 of their bodies, have had access. The use of the 
 Leech is also too well known to need description. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 THE OCEAN. 
 
 ... .. ... And thou, majestic main ! 
 
 A secret world of wonders in thyself ! 
 
 Sound His stupendous praise, whose greater voice 
 
 Or bids you roar, or bids your roaring fall." 
 
 WHAT a grand and magnificent spectacle does the 
 Ocean present ! Whether we view it when wrought 
 up by fearful agkation into all the horrors of the tem- 
 pest, when the blackness of darkness rides trium- 
 phant on the storm, and its foaming billows mix with 
 the clouds, or gaze upon it, with a calm delight, as it 
 gently advances or recedes in soft and hollow' mur- 
 murs upon the sandy beach, when not a breeze is 
 observed to breathe on its undulating bosom, and 
 every wind is hushed, it is impossible to conceive 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 99 
 
 any thing better calculated to excite in us lofty and 
 sublime conceptions of the Creator. 
 
 " May not the sea/' in the words of a modern au- 
 thor, " be styled the temple of contemplation? View- 
 ed in all its stages, it exalts and improves the mind- 
 Its level expanse,, when a calm prevails, communi- 
 cates a similar tranquillity to the reflecting breast; and 
 when its billows lift their devouring heads, they sug- 
 gest ideas the most sublime, meditations the most 
 solemn. The very nature of the prospect, boundless 
 and unbroken, presents a sensible argument for eter- 
 nity of duration and infinity of space, more forcible 
 than the subtilest reasoning of metaphysics." 
 
 The ocean, rolling its surges from clime to clime, 
 is, undoubtedly, the most august object under the 
 whole heavens. A spectacle of magnificence and 
 grandeur which fills the mind, and engrosses the 
 utmost stretch of imagination. 
 
 What an immense and mighty assemblage of wa- 
 tery particles rcmst be contained in the great deep, 
 and what a prodigious extent of the earth's surface 
 doth it cover ! Some natural philosophers, indeed, 
 have carried their ideas on this subject so far as to 
 assert, that if the bed of the sea were empty, all the 
 rivers of the world flowing into it, with a continu- 
 ance of their present stores, would take at least eight 
 hundred years to fill it again to its present height. 
 If, then, in a single drop of water, as much only as 
 will adhere to the point of a needle,- a philosopher 
 has computed no less than thirteen thousand globules, 
 what an inconceivable number must there be in the 
 
100 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 unfathomable depths, and immeasurable extent ot 
 the ocean ! where the eye is lost in wandering over 
 the liquid expanse, and which, if we look upon a 
 map of the world, we shall find to cover a consi- 
 derably larger portion of the surface of the globe 
 than even the dry land itself. Wonderful as the sea 
 is in itself, and beneficial as it is to the sons of men, 
 all its wonders and all its benefits reflect glory to 
 Him who formed it, and poured it abroad. When 
 we place ourselves upon the shore, and from thence 
 behold that immense body of water, stretching away 
 on all sides, as far as the eye can reach ; and when 
 we consider how large a portion of the globe is co- 
 vered in like manner, what a noble idea are we en. 
 abled to form of that Being, who taketh up the sea 
 in his hand, and in whose sight the ocean is no more 
 than a drop ; who covered the earth with the deep 
 as with a garment, and assigned it bounds which 
 it cannot pass ! And it is truly astonishing by what 
 simple, yet potent means, this great and important 
 end is accomplished ; for it is neither by adaman- 
 tine rocks nor tremendous precipices, nor shelving 
 banks of well cemented sand, that the unruly cle- 
 ment is confined within due limits, although these 
 all no doubt tend their aid in repelling the lashings 
 of its surges, and occasional attempts to encroach 
 on the land ; but by a barrier, simple, yet more ef- 
 fectual than all these, the word of the great Jeho- 
 vah's strength; who has impressed upon this ele- 
 ment that law of gravitation, by which the waters 
 of the mountains are made to go down into the val- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 101 
 
 lies; and has. said to the fluctuating and unstable 
 mass, " Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther ' 
 and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." There 
 are, however, some shores on which the sea has 
 made temporary depredations ; where it has over- 
 flowed, and after remaining, perhaps, some ages, 
 has again retired of its own accord, or been driven 
 back by the industry of man ; but we have an in- 
 stance of one of a very considerable and lasting na- 
 ture, which happened in the reign of Henry I. in 
 which the sea overflowed the estates of Ikirl God- 
 win, in Kent, and formed that celebrated bank now 
 called the Godwin Sands. In the reign of Augus- 
 tus, the Isle of Wight also made a part of Britain, 
 so that the English crossed over to it at low water 
 with cartloads of tin; and in the bay of Baise, near 
 Naples, there are remains of houses and streets still 
 visible below the present level of the sea. These, 
 however, may have been occasioned by some earth- 
 quake, or other internal convulsion of the earth, in 
 which case such tracts would no doubt have sunk, 
 although they had been situated more inland; or if 
 these facts must really be 'considered as evidences-of 
 the encroachment of the sea upon the land, as the 
 advocates for that theory insist, we must bring in 
 the testimony of the Norway fishermen to balance 
 them, who affirm, that the sea upon that coast has 
 become much shallower in many places than it had 
 been ; that rocks, formerly covered with water, were 
 now several feet above the surface of the sea. and 
 that loaded vessels used formerly to ride where pin- 
 
 K2 
 
102 BOOK. OF MATURE LAID OPEK, 
 
 naces and barks could now with difficulty swim; as 
 nothing is more'certain from the absolute necessity 
 that a proper equilibrium in the disposition .of the 
 waters of the ocean be kept up, that if the sea is 
 suffered to gain upon the land in one direction, it 
 must recede from it in another, and vice versa. 
 
 Indeed, so far from there being the smallest dan- 
 ger that the world of waters may escape from its 
 present situation, and return again to cover the earth, 
 it might rather be expected, from its known pro- 
 perties and penetrating quality, that it would find 
 its way downward, so as to leave its banks dry by 
 receding from our shores, or, by mixing with the in- 
 ternal composition of the globe, saturate its stores 
 with the exuberance of its moisture. Whether the 
 former of these is chiefly prevented by that other 
 law impressed upon fluids, by which they have a 
 natural tendency to regain their level, and thejatter, 
 by that stiff, tenacious coat of clay, which covers 
 such a considerable portion of the bottom of this uni- 
 versal canal, we will not take upon us to say : one 
 thing is certain, that, as no increase is observed on 
 the waters of the ocean, notwithstanding, as the wise 
 man observes, all the rivers flow into it; so neither 
 is there any sensible diminution of that extent of sur- 
 face so essentially necessary in the business of evapo- 
 ration, which is continually going on from this great 
 natural reservoir. The water, of which the clouds 
 are formed, and which descends in rain or snow, is 
 evaporated from the sea; and it has been found, by 
 calculation, that, in a summer day, there may be 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 103 
 
 raised, in vapours from the Mediterranean alone, no 
 less than five thousand two hundred and eighty mil- 
 lions of tuns of water. The air and sun are the 
 mighty engines which work, without intermission, 
 to raise the water from this inexhaustible cistern. 
 The clouds, as uoqueducts, convey the genial stores 
 along the atmosphere, and distribute them in sea- 
 sonable and regular proportions through all the re- 
 gions of the globe. 
 
 A superficial observer may be apt to imagine, that 
 if the watery element had been less copiously dif- 
 fused, and more confined to a deeper bed, a greater 
 part of the earth might have been converted into dry 
 land, and, consequently, made habitable to a larger 
 portion of the human species ; but such do not con- 
 sider, that the clouds, which drop down fatness, de- 
 rive th^ir fertilizing quality from the vapours exhaled 
 from the ocean, and that to abridge the liquid ex- 
 panse of its extent, would' be only depriving those 
 aerial water-bearers of part of their genial stores, so 
 indispensably necessary to render that portion of 
 the dry land we already possess productive. How 
 amazing that water, without which we can scarcely 
 perform any business, or enjoy any comfort, should 
 be thus brought to stream by our doors, and enter 
 our houses, from the remotest regions from the far 
 ofr' and unfrequented paths of the great deep ; that 
 this boundless mass of fluid salt, so intolerably nau- 
 seous to the taste, should be the original source of 
 those sweet and pleasing showers that descend to 
 water and refresh the earth. 
 
104 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 The all-wise Creator foresaw this, and, in mercy 
 to the inhabitants of the dry parts of this earthly ball, 
 diffused his watery treasures over such a consider- 
 able portion of its surface ; carefully balancing the 
 Atlantic with the Pacific, and the Northern with the 
 Southern ocean ; and if the old Continent can boast 
 of its Mediterranean, Caspian, Baltic, Black, White, 
 and Red seas, the New World is deeply indebted 
 by the gulf of Mexico, and North America has ob- 
 tained the appellation of the Country of lakes. 
 
 But the ocean, as well as being the source of fer- 
 tility, by the exhalations drawn up from its surface 
 by the sun, is also the great receptacle of filth, and 
 mighty purifier and restorer of nature. Almost all 
 the rivers, indeed, run into the sea; but it is not mere- 
 ly to empty their liquid stores, and to keep up the 
 circulation in the huge machine of the universe ; they 
 convey also, as they go along to this capacious re- 
 ceiver, the refuse of nations, and deposit in the bo- 
 som of the great abyss thp accumulated fillh of our 
 towns anr! cities. How, then, it may be asked, are 
 the waters of this mighty basin preserved from being 
 contaminated? And. instead of continuing the sa- 
 lubrious element of vitality to so many living crea- 
 tures, how comes it to pass that the sea is not con- 
 verted into a source of corruption, a fountain of pu- 
 tridity, disease, and death ? 
 
 The two great efficient causes, which produce 
 these happy results, are, that incessant -motion by 
 which the ocean is kept in perpetual agitation, even 
 in its most tranquil state, and the saltness of its wa- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 105' 
 
 tcrs; and that these might operate with the greatest 
 possible effect where most necessary, it is wisely so 
 ordered that both prevail most as we approach those 
 warm regions, where the intense heat would be fol- 
 lowed by most pernicious consequences on a stand- 
 ing pool, or stagnant fresh-water lakes, and are less 
 perceptible in climates more remote from the equator- 
 
 The principal currents of the ocean are those ob- 
 served in the Atlantic ocean, near Guinea, extending 
 from Cape Yerd to the Bay of Fernandos. These 
 currents are so rapid, that vessels run as far in two 
 days with them, as require six or seven weeks to 
 return. 
 
 Near Sumatra there are rapid currents, as also 
 between Java and Magellan, the Cape of Good 
 Hope, and the Island of Madagascar; especially 
 between Natal and the Cape on the coast of Africa; 
 there are violent currents in the sea adjacent to the 
 Maldivian Islands. 
 
 One of the greatest tides w r e know of, is that a^ 
 the mouth of the river Indus, where the water rise 8 
 thirty feet in height .; it is no wonder, therefore, that 
 Alexander's soldiers, who had been accustomed to 
 behold the scarcely perceptible risings of the Medi- 
 terranean, 'should have viewed this striking pheno- 
 menon with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. 
 The tides are also remarkably high on the coasts of 
 Malay, in the Straits of Sunda, in the Red Sea, and 
 along the coasts of China and Japan. 
 
 The sea contains the greatest quantity of salt in 
 the torrid zone, where, otherwise, from the excessive 
 
106 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 heat, it would be in clanger of putrefaction ; as we 
 advance northward, this quantity diminishes, till, at 
 the Pole, it nearly vanishes altogether. 
 
 It may also be remarked, that the Caspian and 
 other inland seas, that have no effluent rivers to put 
 them in motion, and circulate their contents, are salt; 
 while the lakes of Ontario and Erie, through which 
 the river St. Lawrence passes, in North America, 
 are fresh-water lakes. 
 
 We have already Had occasion to remark the bad 
 effects that must have inevitably ensued, had the 
 putrid carcases of land-animals been left to rot in 
 the air unburied; but what must this mighty recep- 
 tacle of carrion and putrefaction have long ere now 
 become, but for the correcting and renovating power 
 imparted to it by its saltness and motion. 
 
 And it ought here to be remarked, that, from what- 
 ever cause the saline nature of the ocean may pro- 
 ceed, its saltness is as inherent in its composition as 
 the heat is in the sun; while, to preserve and keep 
 up the perpetual agitation of its fluid particles, its 
 motion is not dependant on any one single cause. 
 
 The most perceptible agitation in this world of 
 water that strikes our senses, is that occasioned by 
 tl e influence of the wind, when the raging billows 
 heave their tumultuous throes, and threaten destruc- 
 tion to the affrighted mariner; yet this motion, even 
 in the most violent storms, is said to be confined 
 only to its surface That occasioned by the cur- 
 rents, however must descend to the bottom, and be 
 particularly strong among those narrow and deep 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 107 
 
 inequalities most apt to produce them. The bottom 
 of th^sea, like the surface of the earth, is overspread 
 with mountains, intersected with inequalities. In all 
 mountainous places currents will be violent ; in all 
 places where the bottom of the sea is level, they will 
 be almost imperceptible. 
 
 Whirlpools appear to be no other than the eddies 
 of the water formed by the action of two or more 
 opposite currents. The Euripus, nigh the Grecian 
 coast, and famous for the death of Aristotle, alter- 
 nately absorbs and rejects the water seven times in 
 twenty-four hours The Charybdis, near the straits 
 of Sicily, rejects and absorbs the water thrice in 
 twenty-four hours ; and the greatest known whirlpool 
 in the world, that in the Norway sea, which is affirm- 
 ed to be upwards of twenty leagues in circumference, 
 is said to absorb, for six hours, whales, ships, and 
 every thing that comes hear it, and afterwards returns 
 them in the same quantity of time as it drew them in. 
 
 But that which gives to the sea its unremitting and 
 universal impulse, which suffers it not to rest for a 
 single moment over all its wide extended bounds, but 
 keeps it in perpetual agitation, and makes it, a it 
 were, remain vigorous, and acquire health by exer- 
 cise, from one extremity of the earth to the other, is 
 that wonderful and truly surprising phenomenon of 
 nature, the flux and reflux of the tides. 
 
 This wonderful phenomenon, so inconceivable to 
 the ancients, is accounted for by the moderns, on the 
 principle of gravitation, and has been demonstrated 
 to be under the influence of the moon; but from 
 
108 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 whatever secondary cause it may proceed, there can 
 be no doubt as to the tact, that the waters of tte sea 
 ebb and flow alternately twice in the course of some- 
 thing less than twenty-five hours, with the greatest 
 regularity. This is surprising indeed; but it is no 
 less so, that they should adhere so invariably to the 
 limits of their operation ; that even when the waves 
 lift up their heads in the most ungovernable fury, and 
 toss about in their most frantic ravings, they still con- 
 fine themselves to the space allotted for them by Pro- 
 vidence, and pay the most implicit bmission to that 
 unerring law which regulates their movements. 
 
 When the tide begins to flow, it signifies not that 
 the proudest earthly potentate be in the way. Ca- 
 nute may erect his throne on the beach, and com- 
 mand the sea to approach no farther ; but it will be 
 only to proclaim his own impotence ; for, regardless 
 of the mandate, the waters will press on, and, if the 
 monarch persists, will sweep him from the face of 
 the earth. When the ebb has commenced, it is 
 equally vain to think of retarding the reflux ; the roll- 
 ing surges must return to the bosom of the ocean, 
 from whence they came. 
 
 The bed of the ocean, gradually deepening as it 
 recedes from our shores, till it loses itself in the dark 
 unfathomed caves of the deep, renders it not only 
 more commodious for the purposes of navigation, 
 and safe for the inhabitants who dwell on its bor- 
 ders, but it is of singular service in removing, to a 
 distance from our shores, those numerous deposits 
 of noxious matter which are daily poured into it, 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 109 
 
 while undergoing the process of purification amongst 
 the sandy particles at the bottom. There the most 
 offensive impurities having subsided into the mud, 
 may be said to be buried in the depths of the sea ; 
 but not to remain, for even there a species of worms 
 await their farther decomposition, and the last stage 
 of corruption is made to assume a new form. 
 
 The saltness of the sea, besides the important part 
 it bears in the renovating power of the watery ele- 
 ment by its saline quality, is also -of use in lending 
 its aid to preserve that motion, the beneficial efficacy 
 of which has just been demonstrated ; for the salt- 
 ness of the sea renders its waters less apt to freeze, 
 and in those countries where, in the absence of heat, 
 it is not so necessary otherwise, tends not a little to 
 retard the progress of congelation. This serves only 
 to render the water of the ocean heavier, and con- 
 sequently of a proper consistency for supporting 
 those numerous burdens which float on its surface. 
 
 Among the wonders of the great deep, we may 
 justly reckon those awful phenomena, termed Wa- 
 ter-spouts ; yet these no doubt have their uses. 
 They are of two kinds; one of which is no other 
 than a thick compressed cloud, reduced to a small 
 space by contrary winds, which, blowing at fhe same 
 time from many corners, give it a cylindric form, 
 and cause the water to fall by its own weight. The 
 quantity of water is so great, and the fall so sudden 
 and precipitate, that if, unfortunately, one of these 
 spouts break on a vessel, it shatters it to pieces, and 
 sinks it in an instant. It is asserted, and possibly 
 
 L 
 
i 
 
 110 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 with foundation, that these spouts may be broken 
 and destroyed by the commotion which the firing 
 of cannon excite in the air. 
 
 The other kind of water spout is called a typhon, 
 and does not descend from the clouds, but rises up 
 from the sea with great violence. " These Water- 
 spouts," Thevenot observes, " are also very danger- 
 ous, for if they fall on a vessel they entangle in the 
 sails so much that sometimes they raise it up, and 
 afterwards let it fall with such violence as to sink it; 
 or, at least, if they do not lift the vessel up, they tear 
 all the sails, or let the water they contain fall on it, 
 which often sinks it to the bottom." But, whatever 
 mischief may be occasioned by Water- spouts, or 
 however terrifying their appearance, we have abun- 
 dant reason to believe, from their being the produc- 
 tions of so wise and good a God, that the partial evil 
 they may at times occasion, is nothing in comparison 
 with the good they promote. As the burning torrent, 
 issuing from the top of Etna or Vesuvius, alarms the 
 surrounding inhabitants, and sometimes carries ir- 
 remediable devastation among their dwellings, yet 
 is absolutely necessary to prevent greater evils, so 
 the terrific Water spout may act as the most simple 
 and efficacious medium of restoring that equilibrium 
 among the elements, which, if longer prevented, 
 might not only occasion convulsions sufficient to 
 swallow up whole navies, but be attended with the 
 most direful effects upon the dry land. But were it 
 for no other purpose than to add to the grandeur of 
 such a scene as is about to be described, and awa- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. Ill 
 
 ken feelings similar to those experienced by the au- 
 thor of the following sublime sketch, taken in the 
 midst of the Atlantic ocean, these wonderful produc- 
 tions of the varying power of nature may be said 
 not to have been created in vain. 
 
 te One evening,'' observes this writer, (" it was a 
 profound calm,) we were in the delicious seas which 
 bathe the shores of Virginia; every sail was furled; 
 I was engaged upon the deck, when I heard the bell 
 that summoned the crew to prayers; I hastened to 
 mingle my supplications with those of the compa- 
 nions of my voyage. The officers, with the passen- 
 gers, were on the quarter ; the chaplain, with a book 
 in his hand, stood at a little distance before them; the 
 seamen were scattered at random over the poop ; we 
 were all standing, our faces towards the prow of the 
 ship, which was turned to the west. The globe of the 
 sun, whose lustre even then our eyes could scarcely 
 endure, ready to plunge beneath the waves, was dis- 
 covered through the rigging in the midst of a bound- 
 less space. From the motion of the stern, it appeared 
 as if the radiant orb every moment changed its ho- 
 rizon. A few clouds wandered confusedly in the 
 east, where the moon was slowly rising; the rest of 
 the sky was serene; and towards the north a Wa- 
 ter-spout, forming a glorious triangle with the lumi- 
 naries of day and night, glistening with all the co- 
 lours of the prism, rose out of the sea like a column 
 of crystal, supporting the vaults of heaven. 
 
 " He who had not recognised in this spectacle the 
 beauty of the Deity, had been greatly to be pitied. 
 
H2 BOOK OP MATURE LAlD OPEJJ. 
 
 Religious tears involuntarily flowed from my eyes. 
 The consciousness of our insignificance, excited by 
 the spectacle of infinity ; our songs resounding to 
 a distance over the silent waves, the night approach- 
 ing with its dangers; our vessel itself a wonder among 
 so many wonders ; a religious crew, penetrated with 
 admiration and with awe; a priest, august in suppli- 
 cating the Almighty God, inclined over the abyss, 
 with one hand staying the sun at the portal of the 
 west, with the other raising the moon in the eastern 
 hemisphere, and lending, through immensity, an at- 
 tentive ear to the feeble voice of his creatures; this is 
 a picture which baffles description, and which the 
 whole art of man is scarcely sufficient to embrace." 
 No person who has walked along the sea shore 
 but must have observed that incessant noise, that 
 continued murmur, which, even when the greatest 
 calm prevails, salutes his ear, and the beautiful white 
 edging by which the floating mantle is fringed at its 
 extremities. This soft and placid murmur, and these 
 graceful white curls, are occasioned by the motion 
 of the waves on the extended beach ; and, trivial as 
 they may appear, serve as perpetual monitors to 
 warn the passenger where the line of boundary com- 
 mences, which separates the land from the water; 
 and as the rushing noise of the rapid river, and the 
 tremendous roar of the dreadful cataract, serve to 
 point out the path of danger to the bewildered tra- 
 veller, particularly under the cloud of night, these, 
 as well as the luminous appearance of the sea, and 
 the noise of the breakers on the rocks, in regions 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 113 
 
 more remote from the habitations of men, may ajso 
 be of use to the mariner in the midnight gloom, by 
 enabling him to steer clear of impending dangers. 
 The luminous appearance of the surface of the ocean, 
 during the obscurity of the night, has been remarked 
 by navigators, and is a curious phenomenon, which 
 has long exercised the sagacity of philosphcrs; but, 
 without enquiring into the cause of this singular phos- 
 phoric property of the waters, by which they are il- 
 luminated, and rendered more visible among break- 
 ers, or where the greatest agitation prevails, we must 
 allow that it, as well as the noise which they make 
 in a state of turbulence, has been wisely imparted 
 to the waves of the deep ; for, in the words of that 
 elegant writer already quoted, " How many vessels 
 would perish amid the darkness, were it not for 
 those miraculous beacons, kindled by Providence 
 upon the rocks!" 
 
 We have already had occasion to notice that law 
 of nature by which fluids, when put out of order, 
 have an uniform tendency to regain their level ; and 
 it is to this law that we must ascribe the facility with 
 which the track of a ship, in the midst of the sea, is 
 closed up. But for this, what a rugged and mis- 
 shapen mass must the surface of the ocean long ago 
 have appeared ! It is, however, wisely ordered other- 
 wise ; and while the plough of the husbandman leaves 
 the deepened furrows open in the stubborn glebe, 
 those occasioned by the humblest bark or lightest 
 skiff in the watery element, as soon as she 
 passed, are quickly swallowed up. 
 L 2 
 
Hi BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPES. 
 
 To a spectator on land, the sea appears to be 
 higher than the spot on which he stands ; this, how- 
 ever, is by no means the case, as is demonstrated 
 by the same experiment by which the globular form 
 of the earth is proved ; namely, the sinking of the 
 hull of a ship in the horizon, as she recedes from our 
 view, before the sails and higher parts disappear. 
 This illusion is occasioned by that refraction in the 
 atmosphere, or property of vision, by which objects 
 are made to rise in the landscape in proportion to 
 their distance from us, by which means our horizon 
 is increased and objects longer kept in view, which 
 otherwise must have been extremely limited, and 
 our prospects of short duration. 
 
 We labour also under a deception in regard to 
 the colour of the sea; for although when viewed 
 from a precipice its waters afford a muddy greenish 
 hue, arising from the depth and position of the eye ; 
 when beheld from a shelving beach it assumes the 
 colour of the sky ; although it is dark and black in 
 the deep abyss, white and foaming in a storm, cloud- 
 ed with the most beautiful colours when the rays of 
 the setting sun shine upon it, or puts on the appear- 
 ance of a beautiful green, when beheld from a boat 
 in a sun-shine day, over a sandy bottom ; yet there 
 can be no doubt but the sea-water is of itself trans- 
 parent and colourless, and that the various appear- 
 ances it puts on must be entirely owipg to accidental 
 causes : and, indeed, how could it be otherwise, but 
 that the medium of vision to so many living crea- 
 tures should have remained in such a transparent 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 115 
 
 and untingcd state, as to enable them to distinguish 
 each other, and the numerous inanimate objects 
 which are to be found in it, by their colour. 
 
 The bottom of the sea being supposed to resemble 
 the surface of the dry land, these inequalities in its 
 depth which occasion the mariner to be so much on 
 the alert, may easily be accounted for But if these 
 are the causes of the deceitful shallows and danger- 
 ous rocks, it must not be forgotten, that to these also 
 we owe the deep unfathomable gulfs over which the 
 vessel glides in safety, and those numerous islands 
 which adorn and diversify the surface of the ocean. 
 
 T/ic Uses of the Ocean. 
 
 Adoring own 
 
 The hand Almighty, who its charmell'd bed 
 Immeasurable sunk, and pour'd abroad, 
 Fenc'd with eternal mounds, the fluid sphere 
 With every wind to waft large commerce on^ 
 Join pole to pole, consociate sever'd worlds, 
 And link in bonds of intercourse and love 
 Earth's universal family." 
 
 The Ocean, as we have already observed, is the 
 great reservoir of nature, the mighty source of eva- 
 poration, which supplies the earth with fertility, by 
 causing the clouds to drop down fatness " It is," 
 in the words of an elegant admirer of Nature's 
 works, " the capacious cistern of the universe, which 
 admits as into a receptacle, and distributes as a re- 
 servoir, whatever waters the whole globe. There is 
 
116 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 not'a fountain that gushes in the unfrequented desert, 
 nor a rivulet that Hows in the remotest continent, nor 
 a cloud that swims in the highest regions of the fir- 
 mament, but is fed by this all-replenishing source. r 
 Thus, in the great, as well as in the lesser world, a 
 continual circulation is kept up. The waters of the 
 clouds ascend from the sea in vapours; they descend 
 to the earth in showers, and return again to the deep 
 in rivers, after having watered and fertilized the 
 earth. The ocean, instead of being a bar of sepa- 
 ration, is the great bond of union among the nations; 
 for look at a map, and behold with admiration how 
 wisely the sea, which the ancients looked upon as 
 an impassable gulf, is disposed and distributed for 
 connecting the remotest realms, and facilitating the 
 intercourse of one nation with another. '* By means 
 of this element we travel farther than birds of the 
 strongest pinion fly, and discover tracts which the 
 vulture's eye has never seen. We make a visit to 
 nations that lie drowned in midnight slumbers when 
 every industrious person on this part of the globe is 
 bestirring himself in all the hurry of business. We 
 cultivate an acquaintance with the sun burnt Negro 
 and shivering Icelander. We cross the flaming line, 
 we penetrate almost to the pole, and wing our way 
 even round the globe."' 
 
 The ocean is the great vehicle of commerce, and, 
 instead of limiting the industry of man, enlarges his 
 sphere, and excites him to action. There go the 
 ships which transport the produce of nations from 
 clime to clime, and enable one people to supply their 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 117 
 
 wants from the abundance of another. And here 
 permit us to observe that the arts of ship building and 
 navigation have, indeed, been of incalculable benefit 
 to mankind. How astonishing, that such an enor- 
 mous and heavy mass as a large ship should be so 
 constructed as to be made to swim in water, with all 
 her crew, stores, and appendages ! Yet such masses 
 are not only made to swim, but are constructed in such 
 a manner as to move at the lightest breeze, and be 
 guided in their course by a very small helm. These 
 considerations alone might excite our surprise, even 
 if the vessel did no more than coast it along, without- 
 losing sight of land ; but, by the sister art of navi- 
 gation, she is carried into the immense depths of the 
 ocean, and made to find her way through pathless 
 tracts, and across a distance of some thousand miles 
 extent ; and this by night and by day, foul weather 
 and fair; as well when the sky is overcast as when 
 it is clear, without the smallest danger of mistaking 
 her port, or missing her desired haven. 
 
 Through this element are imported, at a small 
 expense, the productions and rarities of almost every 
 country ; and while the workmanship of our artisans, 
 and the produce of our manufacturers are widely 
 diffused among the nations, our tables are furnished 
 from the remotest corners of the globe. We are 
 clothed during summer with the fleeces of the south, 
 and are kept warm in the cold season of winter by 
 the furry mantles of the north. The riches of both 
 Indies are wafted to our shores; and our heavy laden, 
 merchantmen find their way to the remotest regions. 
 
118 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 And in this place we cannot pass without noticing 
 how different our modern voyages from those un- 
 dertaken by the ancients, who, even in the mildest 
 climates, and in seas the least tempestuous, ventured 
 only from their harbours in the summer months! 
 and for this we are indebted to the Loadstone. It 
 is the faithful and unerring guide which now con- 
 ducts the pilot with so much certainty in the un- 
 bounded ocean, and enables the merchant to trans- 
 port his goods at such a trifling expence, that a 
 ship of six hundred tons burden, and navigated by 
 between thirty and forty men, can be made to tran- 
 sport as many goods at a time, as would require 
 upwards of twelve hundred horses and a propor- 
 tionate number of men to manage them! What a 
 difference in point of saving, were it no more than 
 the victuals and provender made use of by such a 
 number of men and horses ! 
 
 By the invention of navigation, and the discovery 
 of the magnet, we are enabled to correspond with 
 the most uncultivated barbarian in the isles of the 
 sea, and hold converse, as it were, with those who 
 dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth. By means 
 of these, savages the most distant may be humanized 
 and instructed in the knowledge of the arts and sci- 
 ences, and a way opened up for the more universal 
 spread of the gospel. 
 
 In short, it is impossible to enumerate the benefits 
 to be derived from the wonderous fluid. As the 
 medium of traffic, and the great depot of so many 
 finny treasures, it gives employment to thousands. 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN, 119 
 
 It surrounds nations with the most secure barrier of 
 defence; its salubrious breezes refresh and cool the 
 air. Used as a bath, it invigorates and strengthens 
 the invalid; taken internally as a medicine, its qua- 
 lities are of the most potent nature ; and although it 
 serves as a sink for corruption and all manner of 
 filthinc^s, such are its purifying and renovating pow- 
 ers, that it not only remains clean, wholesome, and 
 uncontaminated itself, but furnishes us with a large 
 proportion of an useful ingredient to preserve our 
 food from putrefaction! 
 
 The bottom of the sea also abounds with a variety 
 of vegetable productions, while its waters are stock- 
 ed with creatures innumerable, both small and 
 great; a consideration of these, however, we must 
 defer for succeeding chapters, and will conclude the 
 present in the words of Bishop Home : " The last 
 use I shall mention which we are to make of the 
 sea, is, that which the Holy Spirit himself hath so 
 frequently made of it in the Scriptures, viz. to con- 
 sider it as an emblem of the world, and of what is 
 passing therein. Under a smiling, deceitful surface, 
 both conceal dangerous rocks and quicksands, on 
 which the unskilful mariner will strike and be lost. 
 Both abound with creatures pursuing and devouring 
 one another; the small and the weak becoming a 
 prey to the great and powerful ; while in both there 
 is a grand destroyer, a leviathan, taking his pastime,, 
 and seeking the perdition of all. 
 
 " In the voyage of life we may set out with a still 
 sea and fair sky; but ere long, cares and sorrows. 
 
120 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 the storms of affliction, shall overtake us. At God's 
 word, either to punish us or to prove us, from some 
 quarter or another, whence perhaps we least ex- 
 pected it, the wind ariseth and lifteth up the waves. 
 We are carried sometimes up to heaven with hope, 
 sometimes down to the deep with despair." 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 SEA PLANTS. 
 
 c( With wonder mark the moving wilderness of waves, 
 Magnificently dreadful ! Where at large 
 Leviathan, (with each inferior name 
 Of sea horn kinds, ten thousand, thousand tribes,) 
 Finds endless range for pasture and for sport." 
 
 THE bottom of the sea, as we have observed, 
 abounds with a variety of vegetable productions. 
 Before turning our attention more immediately to the 
 animated inhabitants of the great abyss, we shall, 
 therefore, take a cursory glance at these sub-marine 
 gardens, woods, and meadows ; and the first thing 
 that strikes our attention, is the remarkable differ- 
 ence in the conformation of Sea and Land Ve- 
 getables; for although they agree in possessing 
 t>he concomitant parts of roots, stalks, and branches, 
 yet it must be immediately observed, that instead of 
 being hard and brittle like the latter, the largest and 
 strongest of the former are furnished with an extra- 
 ordinary degree of tenacity, yet evince a power of 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 121 
 
 flexible elasticity that is astonishing; so much so, 
 that bend them into any form, or twist them into an 
 hundred shapes, while they adhere in their native 
 freshness, to the rocks, still they recover their na- 
 tural shape and position without danger of breaking. 
 The roots of sea plants are not constructed for pe- 
 netrating deep into the soil, but they are wonderful- 
 ly fitted for taking firm hold of the rocks or stones 
 upon which they vegetate, and, instead of being dis- 
 turbed by the tossings of the tempest, these seem ra- 
 ther to acquire vigour by the severity of the weather. 
 The long and broad leaves of these plants are ex- 
 cellently formed for imbibing moisture from the sur- 
 rounding element; their horizontal position, extreme 
 pliability, and oval shaped branches, fit them admi- 
 rably for the peculiar situations in which they are 
 placed, while the clammy, glutinous moisture, with 
 which they are covered, no doubt serves (besides 
 other important purposes,) to prevent them from being 
 injured by the continual action of the w r ater ; so that, 
 in the words of an admirable writer, whom we have 
 already more than once quoted, " we see from this, 
 and numberless other instances, what a diversity 
 there is in the operations of the great Creator's hand. 
 Yet every operation is an improvement, and each 
 new pattern has a peculiar fitness of its own. The 
 herbs and trees (he also adds) which flourish on the 
 dry land, are maintained by the juices that permeate 
 the soil, and fluctuate in the air. For this purpose 
 they are furnished with leaves to collect the one, and 
 with roots to attract the other; whereas the sea plants, 
 
 M 
 
122 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 finding sufficient nourishment in the circumambient 
 waters, have no occasion to detach a party of roots 
 into the ground, and forage the earth for sustenance. 
 Instead, therefore, of penetrating, they are but just 
 tacked to the bottom, and adhere to some solid sub- 
 stance, only with such a degree of tenacity as may 
 secure them from being tossed to and fro by the 
 random agitation of the waves." 
 
 There are two striking peculiarities in sub-marine 
 vegetables, which deserve our notice. Several of 
 them are furnished with a number of appendages in 
 the form of globes or bladders; and, instead of an 
 uniformity of colour, these are found to be diversi- 
 fied with a dissimilarity of tints The former, how- 
 ever, from emitting a loud noise when broken, we 
 have reason to conclude may possibly serve the pur- 
 pose of air-vessels to the plants, and we need not go 
 far to have the mystery solved, why they are made 
 to differ so much in colour trom each other. 
 
 Let us attend to the operations of yonder angler, 
 and behold with what eagerness the unsuspecting 
 fish, guided by the eye, rushes on the deceitiul bait ; 
 if we can, therefore, for a moment harbour the sup- 
 position that it is by the eye the finny tribes are, in 
 a great degree, directed in their movements, and 
 knowing, as we do, that some of them delight in ve- 
 getable food, we must see at once the propriety of 
 such a variety in the colour of the carpet that covers 
 the bed of the, ocean, and the wisdom in the contri- 
 vance of its different hues. Without dwelling on the 
 several uses of the vegetable productions of the great 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 123 
 
 deep, we will briefly observe, that, besides serving 
 as articles of food to so many of the watery regions, 
 particularly to those of the Shell kind, which abound 
 chiefly among them, these afford, among their intri- 
 cate and perplexing labyrinths, a safe retreat for the 
 weak from the strong; a commodious lodgement for 
 a variety of shell fish, and convenient recesses for 
 numbers of the finny tribes to betake themselves to, 
 for the purpose of depositing their spawn ; and to 
 those who make usa of their leaves on the occasion, 
 these plants seem to be admirably adapted to the 
 glary matter which covers their substance, not only 
 preventing the eggs from being easily washed off be- 
 fore they are hatched, but affording, in all likelihood, 
 an immediate supply of nutricious food for the young, 
 before they are fitted for any thing more gross ; and 
 this may be the reason, as well as the safety which 
 their concealment insures, why so many of the weak 
 and smaller fry are found among them. 
 
 These few specimens may serve to show in what 
 respects sea vegetables may be of use in the econo- 
 my of nature ; and we will just notice two or three 
 of the many instances in which they may be said 
 more directly to contribute to the service of man. 
 
 The utility of the Sponge, (an article which takes 
 its rise from those rocky beds,) in several of our most 
 useful arts and manufactures, is well known. The 
 sea weed, made into kelp, forms a principal ingre- 
 dient in the composition of soap and glass; and is 
 found o> our rocks and shores in great abundance. 
 After being spread out and dried in the summer 
 
124 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEff, 
 
 months, it is raked together and burnt in those hol- 
 lows which we observe on the beach. The ashes 
 form what is called kelp, which is used in the com- 
 position of soap and glass, as well as in the alum 
 works. Soap is an article too well known for its 
 cleansing quality to need description; and without 
 the aid of glass, to what miseries and inconveniences 
 must we be exposed, without taking into consider- 
 ation the darkness that must still have hung over our 
 mental horizon, had it not been for the invigora- 
 ting powers of those magical instruments that have 
 brought a new creation to our notice! But of all the 
 uses to which sea vegetables can be, applied, there 
 is not one so valuable as that to which they may be 
 converted, when in a state of putrescence, in the 
 form of manure, for promoting the interests of agri- 
 culture and vegetation upon land. 
 
 How surprising that these pliant productions of 
 the bed of the ocean, w r hen worn out, or in a state 
 of decay, should possess the amazing qualities of ren- 
 dering more fertile our fields and meadows, of caus- 
 ing the barren tracts to bring forth, and of renovating 
 the exhausted powers of the cultivated districts ! On 
 this strange circuit of reproduction, w r e cannot say, 
 " out of the eater cometh forth meat, and out of the 
 strong came forth sweetness ;" but we have abun- 
 dant reason to remark, that out of death came forth 
 life, that out of putrefaction came forth vitality ! 
 
BOOK. OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 125 
 
 Animal Flowers. 
 
 Half removed from the objects we have just been 
 considering, we observe, on our way to those of a 
 higher order, a number of curious productions in the 
 form of fleshy excrescences among the rocks and 
 stones; some with their heads drawn close together, 
 and others spread out at top in all the luxuriance of 
 a full blown flower. These, on account of their firm 
 adherence to a particular spot, and apparent want 
 of sensibility, might be taken for vegetables ; but, up- 
 on minute examination, they will be found to con- 
 stitute part of that superior class, or uniting link be- 
 tween the vegetable and animal creation, that we 
 had occasion to mention in a preceding chapter upon 
 Quadrupeds, under the appellation of Animal Flow- 
 ers. Let us attend to the operations of one of them, 
 and we shall soon discover, that what at first wore 
 the appearance of a still, inanimate, full-blown flower, 
 has something of a living and active principle in it. 
 Touch its diverging rays or filaments, and see how 
 they contract ; but in this you may say it does no 
 more than the sensitive plant ; make, however, an- 
 other experiment, and put a shell-fish on its orifice, 
 behold how it extends itself to receive it, with what 
 efforts it sucks it in, and how the under part of the 
 body swells as it forces the food into the stomach. It 
 is not, however, capable of digesting the shelly sub- 
 stance, and see with what artifice it disgorges it, af- 
 ter having stript it of its contents. These are cer- 
 tainly not the properties of mere vegetables. But 
 
 M2 
 
126 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 what is that other one about ? It has put forth in 
 array all its little fleshy horns or feelers ; with some 
 of them it has laid hold of an insect, which it is in 
 the act of conveying to its mouth ; it soon is made 
 to disappear in the aperture, and the dilating of the 
 under extremity, or stalk of the flower, plainly evin- 
 ces its progress downwards ; these are certainly the 
 functions of animal life, and from these and such like 
 actions, what at first might appear as nothing more 
 than vegetables, have justly been denominated Ani- 
 mal Flowers -, while, from their being capable of 
 propagation by cuttings, and of being muitiplied by 
 divisions, they may, with equal propriety, be desig- 
 nated Salt-water, or Sea Polypuses, and be reckoned 
 among the wonders of the Almighty in the deep. 
 
 That these substances resemble polypuses, by the 
 singular property of being multiplied and grafted 
 by slips, experience has put beyond a doubt The 
 reproductive power of the Barbadoes animal flower 
 is prodigious. Many people coming to see these 
 strange creatures, and occasioning some inconve- 
 nience to a person, through whose grounds they were 
 obliged to pass, he resolved to destroy the objects of 
 their curiosity ; and that he might do so effectually, 
 caused all the holes, out of which they appeared, to 
 be carefully bored and drilled with an iron instru- 
 ment, so that we cannot suppose but their bodies 
 must have been entirely crushed to a pulp ; never- 
 theless they appeared again, in a few days, from the 
 same places. 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 12 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 SHELL-FISH. 
 
 11 In shelly armour wrapt, the lobster seeks 
 Safe shelter in some bay, or winding creek ; 
 To rocky chasms the dusky natives cleave, 
 Tenacious hold, nor will the dwelling leave.** 
 
 IF the wonderful productions we have just been 
 contemplating, may be considered as pail of the con- 
 necting link between the vegetable and animal king- 
 doms, the lowest gradation of this species may be 
 accounted that which unites the animal to the fossil 
 class ; but what a prodigious variety of these exist, 
 from the humble oyster, which vegetates in its shell, 
 to the ponderous Tortoise that grazes the aquatic 
 meadow, or the wondrous Lobster, that shoots with 
 rapidity across the gulf 
 
 The Lobster, indeed, may be well styled won- 
 drous. According to Sturm, it is one of the most 
 extraordinary creatures that exists. " An animal, 
 (observes this writer,) whose skin is a shell, and 
 which it casts off every year, to clothe itself with 
 new armour ; an animal, whose flesh is in its tail and 
 legs, and whose hair is in the inside of its breast ; 
 whose stomach is in its head; and which is changed 
 every year for a new one, and which new one be- 
 gins by consuming the old. An animal which carries 
 its eggs within its body, till they become fruitful, 
 and then carries them outwardly under its tail ; an 
 animal which can throw off its legs when they 
 
128 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPE&. 
 
 become troublesome, and can replace them with 
 others ; and lastly, an animal whose eyes are placed 
 in moveable horns. So singular a creature will long 
 remain a mystery in the human mind. It affords 
 new subject, however, to acknowledge and adore 
 the power and wisdom of the Creator. 
 
 The distinguishing appendage of this class, and 
 that from which they derive their name, is the hard 
 crustaceous covering in which their bodies are en- 
 veloped ; and how admirably fitted are they by this 
 natural bulwark for that particular station in which 
 Providence has placed them : for how could such 
 soft and tender bodies have been otherwise defended 
 and protected from injury among the many rugged 
 and uneven masses where their habitations are as- 
 signed, and how could they escape from their nu- 
 merous enemies, had they not the power of with- 
 drawing and shutting themselves up on the approach 
 of danger, within their shelly covering? But be- 
 sides this, there are several things remarkable in 
 each individual species of this order, which demon- 
 strates the whole to be fitted in the best possible 
 manner for their various situations, habits and pro- 
 pensities, and to be the workmanship of the same 
 Being whose wisdom and goodness are so conspi- 
 cuously displayed in his other works. 
 
 The Limpet, stationed as a sentinel on the top of 
 the rock, and oft exposed to the mid-day's heat when 
 the tide is, out, as well as to the continual tossings 
 and agitations of its waves when it is covered, is 
 safely lodged in a little cone, impervious to the most 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 129 
 
 penetrating rays of the sun, and so firmly cemented 
 to the rock by means of the broad muscular surface 
 he presents, that neither storm nortempest can prevail 
 to loosen his grasp, or make him relinquish his firm 
 hold. The Muscle is not provided by nature with 
 such a strong and firm sheet-anchor, but she is taught 
 to supply the defect by a rt, and to spin to herself 
 cables, by which she can be moored in security to 
 her favourite spot. The Periwinkle does not at- 
 tach itself so firmly as either of these, nor has she 
 the means or the power to do so ; but her stony ha- 
 bitation is almost proof against accident, and she can 
 roll about in safety, hermetically sealed up tfnder 
 her scaly covering The Cockle burrows deep in 
 the sand or mud, and its edges are notched, in order 
 to enable it to clasp more firmly together. The 
 Nautilus, which can exist either as a diver or swim- 
 mer, and lives sometimes at the bottom, and some- 
 times on the surface of the ocean, has a power of 
 contracting and drawing itself into its shell when it 
 has occasion to descend to the bottom, and of un- 
 folding and expanding its oars and sails, when it 
 has an inclination to sport on the surface. The 
 Cutler, or Razor fish, never creeps, but penetrates 
 perpendicularly into the sand; and how nicely is 
 its long and slender shell formed for this purpose ! 
 The Crab is provided with, claws and -feet for 
 scrambling about, but amongst such rugged preci- 
 pices, and with so many enemies to encounter, it 
 must often be at the expence of a limb; and, lo ! it 
 is endowed with the singular property of shaking off 
 
130 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 and reproducing a new one at pleasure. Nature 
 has given this singular power to these creatures, for 
 the preservation of their lives, in their frequent quar- 
 rels. In these, one crab lays hold of the claw of 
 another^ and crushes it so that it would bleed to 
 death, had it not the power of giving up the limb in 
 the strange manner described by naturalists. If one 
 of the outer joints of a small leg be bruised, and the 
 creature be laid on its back, it shews uneasiness at 
 first, by moving it about, afterwards it holds it quite 
 still, in a direct and natural position, without touch- 
 ing any part of the body, or of the other legs with it 
 Then, on a sudden, with a gentle ccack, the wound- 
 ed part of the leg drops off; the effect will be the 
 same with the great leg, only it is thrown off with 
 greater violence. Having got clear of the injured 
 part, a mu :us now overspreads the wound, which 
 presently stops the bleeding ; and a small leg is by 
 degrees produced, which gradually attains the size 
 of the former. Lobsters have also the power of re- 
 producing an injured leg ; and this accounts for 
 their being so often found with limbs of unequal 
 size : the small leg must be a new one, which has 
 not attained its full growth The Lobster is admi- 
 rably formed for either running or swimming, and 
 can bound with such a spring to her hole in the rock 
 when frightened, that she enters it with velocity 
 through an opening barely sufficient, to appearance,' 
 for her body to pass. And the Pholas, though not 
 furnished with an instrument apparently calculated 
 for boring and scooping out stones, is endowed with 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 131 
 
 such a fund of patient perseverance, that it is ena- 
 bled to penetrate into these callous substances by the 
 application of a fleshy member, resembling a tongue. 
 With this soft and yielding instrument, the indefati- 
 gable and persevering Pholas, perforates marble and 
 the hardest stones ; and when small and naked, it 
 has effected an entrance, it then enjoys a life of se- 
 curity and ease, existing upon sea water, that enters 
 at the aperture, and increasing its habitation as it in- 
 creases in size. 
 
 The Instinctive Sagacity of the crustaceous tribe 
 also claims our attention We have already re- 
 marked, that the little Nautilus is furnished with an 
 apparatus for either diving or swimming. But who 
 taught the Nautilus to sail ? and yet, without the 
 instinctive knowledge how to make use of them, of 
 what use would be either her sails or oars ? these, 
 however, are not given her in vain, for she evinces 
 a knowledge in the art of navigation, which is sup- 
 posed to have been copied by some of the early ma- 
 riners, and the example she affords has been held 
 out by the poet as still deserving imitation : 
 
 Learn of the little Nautilus to sail, 
 
 Spread the thin oar, and catch the driving gale." 
 
 The natural sagacity of the Nautilus, in the use of 
 his instruments of motion, is thus beautifully deli- 
 neated by the descriptive pen of Hervey; " The 
 dexterous inhabitant (whose shell forms a natural 
 boat,) unfurls a membrane to the wind, which serves 
 him instead of a sail. He extends also a couple of 
 arms, with which, as with two slender oars, he rows 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 himself along. When he is disposed to dive, he 
 strikes sail ; and, without any apprehension of being 
 drowned, sinks to the bottom. When the weather 
 is calm, and he has an inclination to see the world, 
 or take his pleasure, he mounts to the surface, and 
 self-taught in the art of navigation, performs his 
 voyage without either chart or compass ; is himself 
 the vessel, the rigging, and the pilot." 
 
 When the sea is calm, numbers of these animals 
 are said to be seen sailing on the surface; but at the 
 approach of a storm, they fold in their legs, and 
 swallowing as much water as will enable them to 
 sink, they plunge to the bottom, where they no 
 doubt remain in a place of security during the raging 
 of the tempest, and when they wish to rise, they 
 void this water, and so decreasing their specific 
 gravity, quickly ascend to the top, where, by means 
 of their tails, answering the purpose of helms, they 
 can steer themselves in any direction. 
 
 Sea Tortoises, without any teacher but nature, 
 are instinctively taught to lay their eggs on the sea 
 shore, and cover them with sand ; and no sooner 
 are the young hatched and fitted for their journey, 
 than they leave the place of their nativity, and run 
 towards that element which Providence has destin- 
 ed for their abode ; so that the poet may well say : 
 
 " Reason progressive, instinct is complete; 
 Swift instinct leaps, slow reason feeblv climbs. 
 Brutes soon their zenith reach ; their little all 
 Flows in at once; in ages they no mo; e 
 Could know, or do, or covet, or enjoy." 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 133 
 
 When the young Lobsters leave the parent, they 
 betake themselves to hiding places in the smallest 
 cliffs in the rocks; but no sooner do they find them- 
 selves incrusted with a firm shell, than they sally 
 out in quest of plunder. When the time of moult- 
 ing, or changing the shell draws near, this animal 
 again betakes itself Co a retired situation, where it 
 remains in security during its defenceless state; and 
 after losing the shell, (which both crabs and lobsters 
 do annually,) and before a new one is formed, the 
 animal is in a very naked and defenceless state, ex- 
 posed to the dog fish, and a multitude of other de- 
 predators. In this situation they do not, however, 
 long continue; for the new covering is formed, and 
 completely hardened, in little more than forty eight 
 hours; and no sooner does it find itself covered with 
 its new suit of armour, than it appears again on the 
 stage, lively and active as before. The common 
 Crabs herd together in distinct tribes, and keep 
 their separate haunts. The Soldier Crab is not 
 provided by nature with a shell attached to his body, 
 but she has inspired him with instinctive sagacity to 
 take up his abode in the first empty one he can lay 
 hold of, suitable to his purpose, and to change it for 
 another when it grows incommodious. When it has 
 overgrown, or otherwise has occasion to change the 
 shell, the little soldier is seen busily parading ihe 
 shore, but still dragging its old habitation along, un- 
 willing to part with one, until it has found another 
 still more convenient for its purpose It is ^-en 
 stopping at one shell, turning it, then going on to 
 
 N 
 
134 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 another, looking at it a while, then slipping its tail 
 from the old habitation to try on the new. This 
 is sometimes found to be more inconvenient, in 
 which case it quickly returns to its old shell, and 
 goes in quest of another more roomy and commo- 
 dious. But it is not till after many trials and fre- 
 quent combats, that the soldier sometimes finds him- 
 self completely equipped; for there are frequent 
 contests betwixt two of this species, for some well- 
 looking and commodious shell ; and it is from this 
 circumstance, perhaps, the soldier-crab derives its 
 name. When two of them meet with the same ob- 
 ject, each strives to take possession; they strike with 
 their claws, and bite each other till the weakest is 
 obliged to yield. It is then that the victor takes pos- 
 session, and parades in his new conquest, backwards 
 and forwards upon the strand, before his envious 
 antagonist. The Land Crabs of the \Vest Indies 
 (which also may be reckoned among the natives of 
 the deep,) are represented as living in a kind of or- 
 derly society, and regularly once a year marching 
 down from the mountains to the sea, in order to de- 
 posit their spawn ; and after the little creatures are 
 hatched under the sand, they also are observed as 
 regularly quitting the shore in crowds, and slowly 
 travelling up towards the mountains 
 
 These creatures commence their expedition in the 
 months of April and May. At that time the whole 
 ground is covered with this numerous band of adven- 
 turers. The sea is the place of their destination, and 
 to that they direct their march. No geometrician 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 135 
 
 could send them by a shorter course. They never 
 turn aside to the right or to the left, if they can pos- 
 sibly avoid it, whatever obstacles intervene. If they 
 meet with a house, they will attempt to scale the 
 walls, in order to keep their ranks ; and if the coun- 
 try be intersected by rivers, they wind along the 
 course of the stream. They arc commonly divided 
 into three battalions, of which the first consists of 
 the strongest and boldest males, that, like pioneers, 
 march forward to clear the route, and face the great- 
 est dangers. They are often obliged to halt for want 
 of rain. The main body is composed of females, 
 which never leave the mountains till the rain is set 
 in, and then descend in regular order, in columns of 
 fifty paces broad, and three miles deep ; and so close 
 that they almost cover the ground. Three or four 
 days after this, the rear guard follows, a straggling 
 and undisciplined tribe, consisting of males and fe- 
 males ; but neither so robust nor so numerous as the 
 former. The night is their chief time of proceeding; 
 but if it rains by day, they do not fail to profit by 
 the occasion When they are terrified, they march 
 back in a disorderly manner, holding up their nip- 
 pers, with which they sometimes tear off a piece of 
 the flesh of an assailant, and leave the weapon where 
 they inflicted the wound. They even try to intimi- 
 date their enemies, by clattering their nippers toge- 
 ther, which, considering their number, must have 
 a powerful effect. When they have arrived at the 
 shore, which sometimes takes three months, they 
 prepare to cast their spawn, by eagerly going to the 
 

 136 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 edge of the water, and letting it wash several times 
 over their bodies. At the expiration of some days, 
 spent on the land, after this washing, they again seek 
 the shore; and shaking off the spawn into the wa- 
 ter, leave it there- The sea, to a great distance, is 
 black with the eggs, and shoals of hungry fish at- 
 tend, and devour a considerable quantity of them ; 
 those that escape are hatched under the sand; and 
 soon after, millions at a time of these little crabs are 
 seen quitting the sfiore, and making their way slowly 
 to the mountains. 
 
 When the Tellina has occasion to move, she puts 
 herself into a certain position, which occasions her 
 to spring out, with considerable force, to a distance. 
 When the Scallop finds herself deserted by the tide, 
 it jerks itself forward by opening and shutting its 
 shell in a singular manner. When the Razor shell- 
 fish finds itself deceived by the fisherman, when he 
 decoys it from its subterraneous habitation by a 
 sprinkling of salt, and has time to retreat, no such 
 attempt will succeed a second time. When part of 
 the legs of the Sea Hedge-hog are at work, carry- 
 ing him forward, the horns that are nearest in that 
 direction are busily employed in making soundings 
 or feeling the way. The Muscle, when she has 
 commenced spinning her cable, will make a trial of 
 a thread, by drawing it out strongly towards her, 
 before she proceeds to stretch out a second ; and these 
 cords, which she spins with so much art, are, in re- 
 ality, as serviceable to them as cables are to a ship. 
 There are frequently a hundred and fifty of these 
 
BOOK <W NATURE LAID OPEN. 137 
 
 little cables employed in mooring a muscle; each 
 cable is scarcely two inches long, but they are all 
 spun by herself, and the tongue is the instrument 
 which not only produces these numerous threads, but 
 serves also instead of arms and legs on other occa- 
 sions The Limpet, when she has occasion to un- 
 moor, finds means to disengage herself without any 
 great effort, and to move from her place by the same 
 muscle by which she adhered so firmly to her an- 
 chorage. Even Oysters are said not to be destitute of 
 the power and the instinctive sagacity to turn them- 
 selves round when thrown irregularly into a vessel 
 of water, so that the concave shells may remain 
 
 downmost, in order to retain their favourite liquor. 
 
 I 
 
 Uses of Shell-fish. 
 
 From the number of animals which prey upon in- 
 sects, it was inferred, that the principal object the 
 Creator had in view in the formation of these, was 
 the subsistence of many of the larger orders of crea- 
 tures ; so, from the numerous herds of shell-fish, 
 which, in a great degree, resemble insects, and eve- 
 ry where abound among the beds of the ocean, and 
 the extraordinary digestive faculties of the finny 
 tribes, we have reason to conclude, that the former 
 were principally intended and brought into existence 
 for food to the lifter- We will, however, mention a 
 few particulars in which the crustaceous tribes may 
 also be said to be otherwise serviceable. 
 
138 BOOK 0# NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 The Hawk's -bill Turtle is valued on account of 
 its shell, from whence our most beautiful snuff boxes, 
 and other trinkets, are said to be formed. The Green 
 Turtle, as a wholesome and highly delicious food, 
 has become such a valuable article in commerce, that 
 our West India vessels are now generally fitted up 
 With conveniences for importing them alive. The 
 Land Crab is said to be regarded as a delicacy in 
 Jamaica; and it is even asserted that the slaves are 
 often entirely fed upon them. Among the shell fish 
 on the Waterford coast, the Murex, which gave the 
 Tyrian purple, is said to exist. We need not men- 
 tion in what estimation the Lobster, the Crab, and 
 other shell-fish, are held among ourselves;^ and the 
 delicacy of flavour which makes the Oyster prized 
 as an article of food. In the Oyster, also, is found 
 that beautiful substance called Mother of Pearl; but 
 as the pearl fishery is one of the most destructive em- 
 ployments (the art of war excepted,) in which the 
 human species can be engaged, it is much to be la- 
 mented that what is principally used in the formation 
 of trinkets should continue to be procured at the ex- 
 pence of so much human misery. 
 
 The pearls are searched for by Divers, educated to 
 it as a profession ; they descend from fifty to sixty feet, 
 each bringing up a net full of Oysters. The pearl 
 is most commonly attached to the inside of the shell, 
 but is most perfect when found in me animal itself. 
 
 The exertion undergone during this progress is so 
 violent, that, upon being brought into the boat, the 
 Divers discharge water from their mouths, ears and 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 139 
 
 nostrils, and frequently blood; this does not, how- 
 ever, hinder them from going down in their turn, 
 and the poor creatures will often make from forty to 
 fifty plunges a day. But the violence of the exer- 
 tion (by which, although the most robust and healthy 
 are generally chosen for this employment, yet they 
 seldom survive it five or six years,) is not the only 
 thing the Pearl-divers have to dread; they are also 
 exposed to the attacks of the sharks, who, if they are 
 not successful in every attempt to extinguish at once 
 the vital spark, and so put an end to a life so little 
 to be envied, frequently deprive these unhappy be- 
 ings of a limb", and suffer them only to escape from 
 their jaws in a mutilated state! Read this, ye dash- 
 ing fair ones! and think, as ye enter the ball room 
 under a profusion of glittering ornaments, that, to 
 procure that costly bracelet, an unhappy fellow crea- 
 ture was doomed to the slavery of the diamond- 
 mines ; and that beautiful pearl was procured at the 
 peril of another's life. And all this while so many 
 of the transcendent beauties of creation, placed by 
 the Almighty within our reach, pass unregarded. 
 But this is of a piece with the general conduct of 
 man, who is ever apt to lose the substance in grasp- 
 ing at the shadow. 
 
110 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEK 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 FISHES. 
 
 " Who can old Ocean's pathless bed explore, 
 And count her tribes that people every shore: 1 " 
 
 " From icy oceans, where the whales 
 Toss in foam their lashing tails." 
 
 IP the Ostrich, the Emu, and the Cassowary, were 
 remarkable for their size, and claimed our first at- 
 tention among the feathery tribes, in consequence of 
 their apparently constituting part of that link which 
 unites the quadruped to the volatile race, the Whale 
 deserves our immediate notice on entering among 
 the finny tribes; not only on account of its enormous 
 bulk, which has occasioned it, in its movements, to 
 be compared to a mountain in motion, but for the 
 resemblance that it bears to the four footed class of 
 animals in its internal structure, and that superior in- 
 stinctive sagacity which it displays in its conjugal at- 
 tachment, and care of its offspring* In bulk, the 
 Whale may be said to exceed every animal of which 
 we have any certain description. They are in the 
 arctic regions at present from sixty to ninety feet 
 long; but formerly, when the captures were lessfre- 
 qnent, and they were not so much thinned before ar- 
 riving at a larger growth, they were suid to be found 
 of the enormous length of two hundred and fifty feet; 
 and in the Indian Seas they aiv still seen one hun- 
 dred and fifty feet in length. Yet, notwithstanding 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 141 
 
 . its amazing bulk, this creature must not be consi- 
 dered as a huge unwieldy mass ; for, according to 
 La Cepede, it swims at the rate of thirty-three feet 
 in a Second, and it is computed that it might circum- 
 navigate the globe, in the direction of the equator, in 
 forty seven days, even allowing it to rest by night 
 during that time! It is believed to be extremely 
 long lived; and the method of catching these huge 
 animals is said to be one of the boldest enterprizes 
 of man. As the whale fishing has, however, been 
 so fully described in a variety of publications, within 
 the reach of the greater part of our readers, we shall 
 pass it over for the present. But, large as the whale 
 is, what is its size in comparison with the Kraken ? 
 if such an animal exists; which is said to be " a mile 
 and a half in circumference ; that, when it appears 
 above the water, it resembles a parcel of small isl- 
 ands and sand-banks, on which fish disport them- 
 selves, and sea-weeds grow ;" and that, " when he 
 sinks, which he does gradually, a dangerous swell 
 succeeds, and a kind of whirlpool is actually formed 
 in the water." 
 
 Far from being disposed to set bounds to the power 
 of the Almighty, by denying the possibility of the 
 existence of such an anirr>al, we w r ould conclude in 
 the words of Goldsmith, that " to believe all that has 
 been said of those animals would be too credulous, 
 and to reject the possibility of their existence, would 
 be a presumption unbecoming mankind." 
 
 In the internal conformation of its parts, and in a 
 few of the external ones of the Whale, there is such 
 
142 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 a similarity to those of quadrupeds, that Linneeus has 
 placed it in the same class ; to which its claim, and 
 that of the other cetaceous fishes, seem, indeed, little 
 inferior to that of the Seal, where the last gradation, 
 in that order of animals, may be said to end. 
 
 In its instinctive tenderness, the Whale is, indeed, 
 entitled to our admiration ; but, as we shall have oc- 
 casion to speak more fully on that subject by and 
 by, we will, for.the present, proceed to the consider- 
 ation of the general 
 
 Structure of Fishes. 
 
 In attending to these, we will soon observe that, 
 if the body of a bird is shaped in the most convenient 
 manner for making its way through the air, a no less 
 extraordinary degree of divine wisdom is evident in 
 the conformation of the finny inhabitants of the deep 
 to that element in which they exist. To make these 
 creatures buoyant and flexible, yet firm to oppose 
 Jthe strongest currents, the great Creator has consti- 
 tuted them of very different materials, and of a dif- 
 ferent construction from other animals. To enable 
 them to traverse with ease and swiftness the watery 
 regions, the greater part of them have the same ex- 
 ternal form, sharp at each end, and swelling in the 
 middle. To preserve them from being hurt by the 
 action and temperature of the surrounding fluid, 
 as well as to enable them to glide more smoothly 
 through it, many of these are covered with a coat of 
 scales, others with a fat oily substance, and the whole 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 143 
 
 with a slimy glutinous matter, supposed to be se- 
 creted from the pores of their bodies. A protube- 
 rant eye would have been inconvenient, and easily 
 injured by moving in such a dense medium ; but, to 
 prevent this, the eyes of fishes are sunk in their heads, 
 and the cornea made flat, while the defect of vision, 
 that must have inevitably ensued in consequence, had 
 they been formed like those of other animals, is pro- 
 vided against by the spherical form of the crystalline 
 humour. As their progression is performed in a 
 different way from that of any of the tribes we have 
 already noticed, they are provided with instruments 
 peculiar to themselves, and are enabled to poise their 
 bodies, and push swiftly along by means of their fins 
 and tail Not being provided with hands or feet to 
 lay hold of their prey, or with talons or bills to tear 
 it to pieces, Nature has provided them with mouths 
 capable of great extension, when they have occasion 
 to seize on their victims, yet so formed, that when 
 shut up close, they terminate in a point, in which an 
 opening is scarcely distinguishable. What a tre- 
 mendous chasm, for instance, does the mouth of a 
 Shark present when extended to receive a human 
 carcase, of which this voracious monster has given 
 instances of being extremely fond, and yet, when 
 closed, it appears but a continuation of that long snout 
 with which this fish, (reckoned among the swiftest of 
 swimmers) like an arrow pierces the watery element. 
 In the absence of necks, which would make the 
 head too apt to be turned aside when making their 
 way against a stream, the whole bodies of fish are 
 
144 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 so formed as to be easily turned with a slight stroke 
 of the tail ; for, when a fish desires to turn, a blow 
 from the tail sends it about in an instant; and when it 
 strikes both ways, the motion is progressive, and en- 
 ables it to dart forward with an astonishing velocity. 
 One distinguishing appendage peculiar to the fin- 
 ny tribe, and which is found in the bodies of all spi- 
 nous or bony fish, is the air bladder, by means of 
 which they can make themselves more or less buoy- 
 ant, and rise or fall in (he water at pleasure. " This," 
 as Dr. Paley observes, " affords a plain and direct 
 instance, not only of contrivance, but strictly of that 
 contrivance which we denominate mechanical It 
 is a philosophical apparatus in the body of an ani- 
 mal. The principle of the contrivance is clear; the 
 application is also clear " The rising and sinking 
 of a fish in the water, so far as is independent of the 
 strokes of the fins and tail, can only be regulated by 
 the specific gravity of the body. When the bladder, 
 contained in the body of the fish, is contracted, which 
 it probably possesses a muscular power of doing, the 
 bulk of the fish is contracted along with it ; where- 
 by, since the absolute weight remains the same, the 
 specific gravity, which is the sinking force, is in- 
 creased, and the fish descends ; on the contrary, 
 when, in consequence of the relaxation of the mus- 
 cles, the elasticity of the inclosed, and now com- 
 pressed air, restores the dimensions of the bladder, 
 the fish becomes proportionally lighter, and rises in 
 the water. 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN, 145 
 
 If the attributes of the Deity are so conspicuously 
 displayed in the general structure and conformation 
 of fishes, they are no less so in the infinity of their 
 number and sizes; in the provision made for at once 
 keeping up the number of this most numerous of all 
 classes, and preventing the sea from being overstock- 
 ed ; and in that peculiarity of form and structure, so 
 essentially necessary in the different species. 
 
 In this mighty reservoir it may emphatically, inr 
 deed, be said, " there are creatures innumerable, 
 both small and great." Linnaeus, however, reckons 
 upwards of four hundred species ; but it is extremely 
 probable, that numbers are concealed in the vast ex- 
 tent and profundity of the ocean, which have never 
 yet been exposed to human observation. But who 
 can count the numbers in each species ? For who 
 can attempt to calculate the numbers in those pro- 
 digious shoals that tinge the sea with their colour, 
 without taking into consideration " those scaly herds, 
 and that minuter fry, which grace the sea weed, or 
 stray through the coral grove?" and what a diversity 
 and variety of sizes do they assume, from the massy 
 whale that sports at large in the Greenland seas, to 
 those minute creatures which enter our creeks, and 
 take up their abode in our harbours! 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding the prodigious numbers of 
 some of these animals, and the stupendous size of 
 others, as we observed before, they are all conve- 
 niently lodged and fed ; which is the more surprising, 
 if we take into consideration the amazing fecundity 
 of some, and the longevity of others of these erea- 
 
 o 
 
146 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 tures. It is asserted of the Herring, that if suffered 
 to multiply unmolested, and its offspring to remain 
 undiminished during the space of twenty years, it 
 would shew a progeny many times greater in bulk 
 than the whole earth! that a single Codfish will 
 produce at a birth, if they escape depredation, a num- 
 ber equal to that of the inhabitants of England! 
 The Flounder is said to produce above a million at 
 a time, and a JVlackarel not less than five hundred 
 thousand; and, in regard to the longevity of fishes, 
 several are said to live upwards of an hundred years. 
 How, then, it may be asked, are those myriads of 
 subjects of the watery kingdom kept within due li- 
 mits? How comes it to pass, that the mighty basin 
 is not overstocked? And how are its numerous te- 
 nants provided with food? This must be principal- 
 ly owing to the prevalence of the predatory system 
 among fishes ; for, numerous as are the draughts ta- 
 ken from the bosom of the ocean for the service of 
 man, they can bear no proportion to the number that 
 are left behind. But the sea, like the land, abounds 
 not with a profusion of vegetables, so as to be suffi- 
 cient for the support of all, nor even the greater part 
 of its inhabitants, many of which are known to be 
 of the most greedy and voracious natures It was 
 absolutely necessary, therefore, that they should de- 
 vour one another, and the experience of ages has 
 proved, that great as the increase of these creatures 
 is, and has been, it has never as yet been more than 
 enough; that the balance has hitherto been pretty 
 equally kept up, and that while the astonishing pro- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 147 
 
 lific powers of the finny tribes have been found suffi- 
 cient for keeping up a constant supply, and making 
 up for every waste, yet there will always be found 
 a requisite number of hungry mouths to devour the 
 overplus. A single Pike has been known to devour 
 one hundred Roaches in three days. Whatever is 
 possessed of life, seems the most desirable food of 
 fish. Some of the smallest feed upon worms and 
 spawn; others, wh^e mouths are large, seek larger 
 prey, it matters not of what kind, or whether it is or 
 is not of their own species. Those with the largest 
 mouths pursue almost every thing that has life ; and 
 often meeting each other in fierce opposition, the fish 
 with the largest swallow comes off victorious by de- 
 vouring its antagonist. 
 
 In regard to the particular construction of fishes, 
 we will briefly remark, that the Whale has often oc- 
 casion to ascend to the surface of the water for the 
 fmrpose of breathing, and it has a tail peculiarly con- 
 structed to enable it to do so. His coat of blubber 
 may be absolutely necessary to make his body equi- 
 ponderate in the water, and to keep his blood warm; 
 while in the absence of offensive weapons he is pos- 
 sessed of extraordinary agility, and by a stroke of 
 his tail can deal destruction to his pursuer. The 
 strength of this fish lies chiefly in the tail. A boat 
 has been cut down, from the top to the bottom, by 
 means of this formidable instrument, though the gun- 
 nel on the top was of tough wood. Another has had 
 the stern-post, three inches thick, cut off smooth, 
 
148 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEX. 
 
 without so much as shattering the boat, or drawing 
 the nails of the boards. 
 
 The Cod, the Haddock, the Whiting, and others, 
 whose principal element is in the middle region of 
 the ocean, have an air-bladder to raise and depress 
 them at pleasure; while the Scate, the Thornback, 
 and others, that grovel mostly at the bottom, are des- 
 titute of this wonderful instrument. The Nar-whale, 
 being a harmless and peaceable animal, may proba- 
 bly make use of the horn, which rises from its brow, 
 for the purpose of breaking the ice, or disengaging 
 the plants, on which it feeds, from the bottom of the 
 sea. The Sword fish will not fail to attack even the 
 Whale himself; and with what a fearful and danger- 
 ous weapon is he armed for the purpose! Of all the 
 inhabitants of the deep, the Shark is the fiercest and 
 most voracious, and in celerity of movement sur- 
 passes most, if not all, of the finny race ; but, to coun- 
 terbalance powers, and an appetite for destruction, 
 that might thin the ocean, there is a strange singu- 
 larity in the projecting of his upper over his under 
 jaw, so that he is obliged to turn in order to take hold 
 of his prey, and while he is doing so his victim often 
 makes its escape. Crabs, Lobsters, Whilks, Mus- 
 cles, and other shell fish, are the food of the Wolf- 
 fish; and for the purpose of effecting the destruction 
 of such well-defended prey, this animal is provided 
 with teeth remarkable for their strength. The Fly- 
 ing-fish has many enemies in both elements, but it 
 is provided with instruments by which it can betake 
 itself either to the water or the air, as occasion may 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 149 
 
 require. In the tropical climates these fishes, when 
 hotly pursued, are seen springing by hundreds out of 
 the water, and sometimes throw themselves on board 
 of ships in order to escape their various assailants. 
 The predaceous fishes that swim in the ocean, and 
 all the birds of prey that range its surface, seem to 
 be combined against it. It is no wonder, therefore, 
 that the beneficent Author of nature has endowed a 
 fish, exposed to so many enemies, with a twofold 
 power to esca'pe. 
 
 The structure of the Sucking-fish enables it to at- 
 tach itself fkmly to the bodies of animals; that of the 
 Ammodytes, or Sand-eel, particularly the head, is 
 most excellently formed for piercing into the sand. 
 The flatness of the Scate and Flounder enables them 
 to cover themselves up in the sand or mud, when 
 they lie in wait for their prey; and the Turbot is said 
 to be provided with a skin or membrane, which he 
 draws over his eyes when he has occasion to stick 
 fast at the bottom in stormy weather. The Globe- 
 fish is beset with prickles like a hedge-hog, and bids 
 defiance to all birds of prey. The Torpedo benumbs 
 on a sudden, and renders impotent whatever fish it 
 assaults: it is said also to strike the fisherman's arm, 
 when he attempts to lay hold of it, with a temporary 
 deadness. " The instant," says Kempfer, " I touched 
 it with my hand, I felt a terrible numbness in my 
 arm, and as far up as my shoulder. Even if one 
 treads upon it with a shoe on, it affects not only 
 the leg, but the whole thigh upwards." The Tor- 
 porific Eel imparts a sensation similar to that which 
 
150 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPE*. 
 
 is experienced from electricity. The Cuttle-fish is 
 furnished with a liquid magazine of an inky colour, 
 to darken the waters when pursued by an enemy. 
 The Galley-fish is protected by the caustic quality 
 of the substance with which its legs are smeared. 
 The abhorrent appearance of the Sea Orb is suffi- 
 cient to disgust men from handling it, and more so 
 fco deter them from partaking of its poisonous quality 
 by way of food. And it is not improbable but the 
 hideous form of the Sea-devil, and other monsters of 
 the deep, may have been stamped upon them by na- 
 rore (which does nothing in vain,) for similar purposes. 
 
 The Instincts of Fishes. 
 
 Fishes, it is said, appear inferior to beasts and birds 
 In acuteness of sensation and instinctive sagacity ; but 
 how is this reconcileable with that tenderness, care, 
 and solicitude, (which nothing can exceed,) which 
 the common Whale evinces for her young ? She- 
 suckles and nurses them with the greatest affection, 
 takes them with her wherever she goes ; when pur- 
 sued she carries them on her back, and supports them 
 with her fins ; when wounded she will not relinquish 
 her charge, and when obliged to plunge, in midst 
 of her agonies, will clasp them more closely, and sink 
 with them to the bottom. Mr Waller, in his beau- 
 tiful poem of" The Summer Islands," relates a sto- 
 ry, in which the maternal tenderness of the Whale 
 is most affectingly displayed. A whale and her cub 
 had got into an arm of the sea, where, by the defec- 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 151 
 
 fion of the tide, they were entirely enclosed. The 
 people on shore beheld their situation, and drove 
 down upon them in boats, with such weapons as 
 could be hastily collected. The animals were soon 
 severely wounded, and the sea tinged with their 
 blood. After several attempts to escape, the old one 
 forced over the shallow into the depths of the ocean; 
 but, though in safety herself, she could not bear the 
 danger that awaited her young one; she therefore 
 rushed in once more where the smaller animal was 
 confined, and, as she could not carry it off, seemed 
 resolved to share its danger. The tide, however, 
 coming in, both were enabled to escape from their 
 enemies, after sustaining a number of wounds. 
 
 The fidelity of whales to each other is also said 
 to exceed even what we observe in birds ; and Gold- 
 smith relates an instance, in which a female whale 
 being wounded while her attached partner was re- 
 clining by her side, on beholding the object of his ten- 
 derness fulling a victim to the harpooners, he stretch- 
 ed himself on her body, and participated in her fate. 
 
 It is curious to remark what sagacity the finny 
 tribes display in seeking out the most proper places 
 for depositing their spawn. The Salmon on her 
 journey up the river, will suffer no obstacle that she 
 can possibly surmount to oppose her progress to the 
 place of her destination ; and in order to attain it, 
 will spring over cataracts several feet high. In 
 going upwards she will keep at the bottom where 
 the current is weakest, and when she returns, will 
 avail herself of its strength at the top, by swimming 
 near its surface ! 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 The migration of different kinds of fishes is truly 
 astonishing; and it is pleasing to remark, that it is 
 when fat and in season for eating, that they are 
 taught so instinctively to throng our bays and creeks, 
 while they disperse to the remotest quarters of the 
 globe when lean and emaciated. " Who," in the 
 words of the celebrated Hervey, " Who bids these 
 creatures evacuate the shores, and disperse them- 
 selves into all quarters, when they become worthless 
 and unfit for our service? Who rallies and recalls 
 the undisciplined vagrants, as soon as they are im- 
 proved into desirable food ? Who appoints the very 
 scene of our ambush to be the places of their ren- 
 dezvous, so that they come like volunteers into our 
 nets? Surely the furlough is signed, the summons 
 issued, and the point of re-union settled by a Provi- 
 dence, ever indulgent to mankind, ever studious to 
 treat us with dainties, and load us with benefits." 
 Not only do the Herrings, the poor man's feast, visit 
 our shores at stated periods, and solicit us by their 
 numbers to partake of the bounties of Providence, but 
 the Pilchard, the Mackerel, the Lamprey, the Tun- 
 ny, and the Salmon, are regular in their migrations. 
 
 At the time the Land Crabs of the West Indies 
 arrive upon the coast to deposit their eggs, numerous 
 fishes of different kinds punctually attend, as if time- 
 ly advised of the exact period when they might 
 expect their annual supply, and greedily devour 
 many of the eggs before they are hatched. Fishes, 
 in order to be fed, have been taught to assemble at 
 the side of a pond by the sound of a bell. Dr. George 
 Serger asserts, that having taken a walk with some 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 153 
 
 friends in the fine gardens of the Archbishop of 
 Saltzburg, the gardener conducted them to a very 
 clear piece of water, in which no fish were at first to 
 be seen, but that the man had no sooner rung a little 
 bell, than a multitude of trout came together from all 
 parts of the pond, to take what he had brought them, 
 and disappeared as soon as they had eaten it up. 
 
 The Lamprey makes holes in the gravelly bottom 
 of the river previous to depositing her ova. The Sea- 
 Dog, in a storm, is said to conceal her young under 
 her belly. A curious circumstance has been observed 
 relative to the young Sharks, that when pursued, 
 they will, on the appearance of danger, take refuge 
 in the belly of the mother. It is asserted by Pliny, 
 that the Fishing- Frog hides itself in muddy water, 
 and makes use of a singular artifice to secure her 
 prey. The Ink Fish seems to be well informed of 
 the use she ought to make of her natural bottle, and 
 when pursued, discharges its contents in the way of 
 her foe. The aborescent Star fish, like the Spider, 
 spreads out her net in order to entangle her unwary 
 victim. And the little Thresher, in order to get the 
 better of his formidable antagonist, tumbles neck 
 over heels, and falls down with astonishing force on 
 the back of the Whale, while his ally, the Sword- 
 fish, wounds him from underneath. 
 
 TJic Uses of Fishes. 
 
 Although it has been said, that to preserve their 
 own existence, and to continue it to their posterity, 
 
154 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 fills up the whole circle of their pursuits, and that a 
 ceaseless desire of food seems to be their ruling im- 
 pulse, yet we are not to consider Fishes as insulated 
 creatures, unconnected with the general concerns 
 and affairs of the world ; as merely formed for the 
 propagation of their kind, and to " pursue and be pur- 
 sued, each other's prey." No; these also act an impor- 
 tant and most essential part in the great theatre of the 
 universe; and woe be to the inhabitants of the earth, 
 did multitudes of fishes not abound in its waters. 
 We have already had occasion to notice the neces- 
 sity of a speedy decomposition of the parts of putres- 
 cent bodies on land? and notwithstanding the saline 
 quality of its waters and perpetual agitation which 
 prevents them for a time, the bad effects of such ac- 
 cumulated loads of filth and nastiness, as are conti- 
 nually pouring into the sea, must soon be apparent, 
 were it not for those numerous herds of fishes, which 
 in every quarter glide with rapidity through the li- 
 quid expanse, and catch and devour almost every 
 thing of a digestible nature that comes in the way. 
 For this purpose, that amazing fecundity may have 
 been bestowed upon them, and for this purpose, 
 those voracious appetites given, that, however re- 
 mote the situation, or disgusting the substance, that 
 enters the watery element, it might quickly meet an 
 eye eager to catch it, and a living tomb to swallow 
 and strip it of its noxious qualities. 
 
 As an article of food the finny tribes are greatly 
 to be prized, and it is matter of thankfulness, that 
 the benefits they impart are most extensively diffus- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 155 
 
 eel; for while our lakes, and rivers, and streams, 
 abound with these living treasures, the ocean con- 
 veys them in myriads to the ends of the earth, and 
 presents the bounties of an indulgent parent to his 
 numerous children, however scattered among the 
 isles of the sea ; and if the Turbo t has been styled 
 for its exquisite relish the Pheasant of the waters, 
 the Sturgeon, even in pickle, has been denominated 
 a luxury, and while the Salmon is held in much es- 
 teem by the great, the poor have reason to praise the 
 Almighty for an abundant supply ot cheap, whole- 
 some, and nutritious food, in those prodigious shoals 
 of Herrings and Pilchards which visit our coasts. 
 
 When the great colony of Herrings set out on 
 their migrating journey from the Polar seas, it is 
 composed of such numbers, that it all the horses in 
 the world were loaded with them, they could not 
 carry the thousandth part ; and when the main body 
 approaches the coast, it is generally divided into 
 distinct colums of five or six miles in length, and 
 three or four in breadth ! 
 
 Vast shoals of Pilchards (a small species of Her- 
 ring) appear about the middle of July, off the coast 
 of Cornwall ; and Mr. Pennant was assured by Dr. 
 Borlase, that on the fifth ot October, 1767, there 
 was at one time enclosed and caught in St. Anne's 
 Bay, no less than 7000 hogsheads of Pilchards, each 
 hogshead containing 3500 fishes ! 
 
 Nor have we less reason to be thankful for the in- 
 calculable number of Cod, and other white fish, 
 which are drawn from the ocean ; and for those in- 
 
156 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 exhaustible stoics of cartilaginous flat fish, which 
 furnish the labourer with his cheap repast. In 1806, 
 fiVe hundred and severity-seven ships, carrying about 
 64,667 tons, arid navigated by 4,336 men, were em- 
 ployed bv the British Government, to export the 
 produce of the fisheries on the banks of Newfound- 
 land, where the principle cod fisheries are. The 
 vessels used in the fishery, are from 100 to 150 tons 
 burden, and catch from thirty to forty thousand fish 
 each; 10,000 persons being employed about this 
 fishery, in catching, salting, and drying the fish, 
 which are sent to all parts of Europe and the West- 
 Indies. These fisheries are said to bring in to the 
 proprietors a revenue of several millions yearly; and 
 they will probably remain in an iriexhausted and in- 
 exhaustible source of treasure, when the richest 
 mines are wrought out. Happy ordination of infi- 
 nite goodness and unerring wisdom, that while the 
 monstrous and unwholesome tribes are thinly scat- 
 tered or hid from our sight in the great abyss, the 
 wholesome and nutritious kinds abound in such num- 
 bers, and are brought, as it were, to our very doors ! 
 
 Even the great Greenland Whale, which abounds 
 in such numbers in the northern ocean, is said to 
 furnish the inhabitants of those countries, which 
 border on his haunts, with a delicious luxury in the 
 article of food. The Porpoise was a royal dish oven 
 so late as the reign of Henry VIII. and the negroes 
 are said to be fond of the flesh of the voracious Shark. 
 
 The Whale is well known on account of its im- 
 portance in furnishing such a supply of oil and 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 15.7 
 
 whalebone. Every Whale yields, on an average, 
 from sixty to one hundred barrels of oil; which, 
 with the whalebone, a substance taken from the 
 upper jaw of%e animal, must render these creatures 
 very valuable in a commercial point of view. From 
 the Cacholet we derive that valuable commodity 
 spermaceti; and ambergris, the sweetest of perfumes, 
 is also frequently found in this animal. The skin of 
 the Shark is converted into shagreen. From a spe- 
 cies of the Sturgeon, we are supplied with isinglass. 
 From the Beluga-fish we derive that delicious com- 
 position called caviare, and also the Beluga stone; 
 The hide of the Huso is so tough and strong, that it 
 is employed for ropes in carts and other wheel car- 
 nages. 
 
 As some of the volatile race seem to be formed to 
 please us with the beauty of their plumage, and de- 
 light us with the melody of their song, so a few of 
 the finny tribe are so exquisitely formed and beauti- 
 fully embellished, that they appear more calculated 
 for our pleasure and pastime, than for any intrinsic 
 value in another point of view. We do not here 
 merely allude to the little gold and silver natives of 
 China and Japan, which are trained and domesti- 
 cated to sport in our ponds, and amuse us with gam- 
 bols in our gardens, but to the Dorado and Gilt head, 
 which glide in the ocean, and the beautiful Drago- 
 net, which shines resplendent in the deep. These, 
 also, on some interesting occasions, may contribute 
 their mites towards the comforts of man. Gazing 
 on these from the side of the vessel that conveys him 
 
158 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 far from his native home, the solitary exile may be 
 made, for a while, to forget his private woes ; and 
 the sporting of these may serve to beguile the tedi- 
 ous moments that mark the slow progress of the lone- 
 some passenger, returning from captivity to the circle 
 of his friends, or to the agitated bosom of her he loves. 
 Thus, if we have had reason to admire the wis- 
 dom, the power and the goodness of the great Crea- 
 tor, as they are manifested in some of the inanimated 
 pages of the BOOK OP NATURE, and to contemplate, 
 as we have gone along, with sentiments of admira- 
 tion and gratitude, the benefits we derive from the 
 internal structure and outward form of the earth 
 from the numerous appendages and vegetable pro- 
 ductions by which the dry land is covered and from 
 the wonderful phenomena and beneficial properties 
 of the ocean ; we have no less cause to be filled with 
 admiration at the bright display of the wisdom and 
 goodness of the Creator, as they shine conspicuous 
 in the inhabitants of the great deep. 
 
 CHAP XIV. 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERE. 
 
 - i " To HIM, ye vocal gales 
 
 Blow soft, whose spirit in your freshness breathes !'* 
 
 We view his kind, his life-preserving care, 
 
 In all the wondcous properties of air." 
 
 FROM the earth let us ascend into the regions of 
 the air, and take a view of that invisible fluid that 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 159 
 
 surrounds our globe as with a garment/ gravitates to 
 its surface, enters into its pores, revolves with it in its 
 diurnal motion, and circles along with it in its annual 
 course. 
 
 The Air is one of the most heterogeneous mix- 
 hires imaginable. " In it," says Goldsmith, " all the 
 bodies of the earth are continually sending up a part 
 of their substance by evaporation A thousand sub- 
 stances that escape all our senses we know to be 
 there; the powerful emanations of the loadstone, the 
 effluvia of electricity, the rays of light, and the in- 
 sinuations of fire." Such are the various substances 
 through which we move, and which we are conti- 
 nually taking in at every pore, and returning again 
 with imperceptible discharge. Yet, notwithstanding 
 the multitude of discordant particles of which the at- 
 mosphere is composed, it is made wonderfully ta 
 harmonize in point of utility ; and is wisely contrived, 
 admirably framed, and excellently constituted, for 
 the various purposes it was intended to perform, in 
 the world of nature and of art. 
 
 That the air is a fluid is obvious, from its possess- 
 ing so many properties in common with other fluids; 
 yet, in one respect, it is wisely made to differ from 
 all others, being incapable of freezing by the greatest 
 degree of cold. Was it not for this singular quality 
 of the atmosphere, what dreadful effects must have 
 been the consequence. Life and animation must 
 long ago have ceased, before the frigid blasts of the 
 north, and when winter first shook his hoary locks,- 
 the great pulse of nature must have stood still, 
 
160 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 Another wonderful property of the air is its invi- 
 sibility; for, although it can be heard in the howling 
 of the tempest, and felt in the pressure of the gale, 
 and notwithstanding the number of bodies that con- 
 tinually mix with its substance, it is still too fine to 
 be seen by the sharpest eye. 
 
 Every object around us is visible, except the air; 
 and happy it is for us that it is so ; for, had it been 
 otherwise, farewell to all the delightful prospects that 
 charm the eye; farewell to all the bright beauties of 
 creation. Nature must have put on a sombre aspect, 
 and, instead of those delightful regions of light and 
 cheerfulness in which we are placed, our habitations 
 would have been surrounded by the doleful shades 
 of a dusky covering, and environed with a mantle 
 of darkness and despair. 
 
 But, although the atmosphere is of itself invisible 
 to the sight, it is the happy medium of light and heat. 
 The air is found to moderate the rays of light, to dis- 
 sipate their violence, and to spread an uniform lus- 
 tre over every object. Were the beams of the sun 
 to dart directly upon us, without passing through this 
 protecting medium, they would either burn us up at 
 once, or blind us with their effulgence; but, by go- 
 ing through the air, they are reflected, refracted, and 
 turned from their course a thousand different ways, 
 and thus are more evenly diffused over the face of 
 nature. But this is not all ; for, by means of the air, 
 the beams of the sun are not only rendered tolerable, 
 and the rays of light more copiously diffused through- 
 out creation, but the advantages of heat and light are 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 161 
 
 lengthened and prolonged. By the reflective pro- 
 perty of this iluid, which must always be in propor- 
 tion to its density, the heat of the sun, although duly 
 attempered, must be more sensibly and uniformly felt 
 nigh the surface of the earth, than in the higher re- 
 gions of the atmosphere; while, to its refractive qua- 
 lity, we arc beholden for the twilight, or that surpris- 
 ing phenomena of nature, by which we enjoy the 
 real presence of the sun when he is actually below 
 the horizon. For the better understanding of this, 
 let any person put a shilling into a basin, and then 
 retire until he can just observe its outer edge visible 
 over the inner edge of the vessel; in that position let 
 some person fill up the basin with water, the whole 
 shilling, by being seen through a denser medium, 
 will instantly become visible to the person who could 
 only before observe its outer edge. 
 
 Were it not for the reflective quality of the air, by 
 which, indeed, the light is parted^ we would behold 
 the sun in his splendour, and observe a brightness 
 in that part of the heavens in which he happened to 
 be, but, on turning round, how cheerless would be 
 the prospect! there darkness visible would reign in 
 the heavens, although the stars and planets would 
 glimmer at noon day; and were it not for the refrac- 
 tive property of this fluid, by which the oblique rays 
 of the great luminary are broken off from a straight 
 course, and turned towards the earth, the transition 
 from the horrors of night to the light of day must 
 have been instantaneous, and, instead of those bene- 
 ficial harbingers, by which the outgoings of the mofcfc- 
 p 2 
 
162 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN, 
 
 ing and evening are made to rejoice, and the long 
 and dismal nights of the polar regions stript of their 
 horrors, the optic nerves would have been overpow- 
 ered by the sun rising in all its glory, and the mo- 
 ment he sunk beneath the horizon, the bewildered 
 traveller left to grope in the dark. 
 
 Although the air cannot be frozen, or perceived 
 by the eye, for the wise reasons already noticed, yet 
 it is capable of being condensed and rarified to an 
 astonishing degree: so much so, that the air in a 
 house may be compressed so as to be made to enter 
 a cavity not larger than the eye of a needle, and the 
 contents of a nut-shell so expanded as to fill a sphere 
 of unknown dimensions. If an empty bladder, with 
 its neck tied close, is laid before the fire, the heat will 
 so rarify the small quantity of inclosed air, as to make 
 it extend the bladder to its full dimensions, and if not 
 then timously removed, will at last break it with 
 the report of a gun. Sir Isaac Newton thinks the 
 air capable of diffusing itself into above a million of 
 times more space than it before possessed. By these 
 remarkable properties of the air, together with its 
 weight and elasticity, it is admirably fitted for some 
 of its most essential uses, and, perhaps, none more 
 so than for the business of animal respiration; for, in 
 this act, so necessary for the prolongation of life, the 
 air, by its weight and condensing power, is forced 
 and compressed into the lungs, while, by its elastic 
 and expanding property, it is thrown out again in 
 the act of breathing. 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEtf. 168 
 
 Perhaps some of our readers may be surprised at 
 the bare mention of the weight of a substance, which 
 has been proverbially compared to a trifle for its 
 lightness, and they may wonder still more when we 
 speak of its elasticity, when they have been taught 
 to consider it an unresisting medium; but what will 
 such think when we boldly assert, that we are lite- 
 rally plunged into a sea of air, and of such gravity 
 and pressure, as to be equal, on the body of a man 
 of moderate size, to the weight of 20,000 Ibs? "< Tre- 
 mendous consideration," says the reflective Hervcy, 
 " should the ceiling of a room, or the roof of a house, 
 fall upon us with half that force, what destructive 
 effects must ensue! Such a force would infallibly 
 drive the breath from our lungs, or break every bone 
 in our bodies; yet so admirably has the divine wis- 
 dom contrived this aerial fluid, and so nicely coun- 
 terpoised its dreadful power, that we receive not the 
 slightest hurt; we suffer no manner of inconvenience; 
 we even enjoy the load. Instead of being as a moun- 
 tain on our loins % it is like wings to our feet, or like 
 sinews to our limbs. Is not this common ordination 
 of Providence, thus considered, something like the 
 miracle of the burning bush, whose tender and com- 
 bustible substance, though in the midst of flames, 
 was neither consumed nor injured r" 
 
 But how are we to account for this miraculous pre- 
 servation? It is owing to the elasticity or spring of 
 the internal air within all bodies, which, although 
 small in proportion, is wisely made to balance, resist, 
 
164 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 and equiponderate that which is without, notwith- 
 standing the height of its column. 
 
 The elasticity and resistance of the air, perhaps, 
 cannot be demonstrated by a more simple experi- 
 ment than by pressing with the hand on a bladder 
 with which it is confined; and the weight and pres- 
 sure of the atmosphere may be explained vv ithout the 
 aid of the air-pump, or other philosophical instrument, 
 merely by taking a common saucer, filled with wa- 
 ter, and turning down a teacup into it, with a piece 
 of flaming paper inside. As the fire destroys the in- 
 ternal air in the cup, a sort of vacuum will take place, 
 and the pressure of the outward air on the water in 
 the saucer will make it disappear and fill up. 
 
 Although, in casting our eyes upwards, we do not 
 observe any boundary to the vast expanse, we are 
 not to consider that the atmosphere is unlimited. On 
 the contrary, we are taught, by the most rational cal- 
 culation, that if it extends much beyond forty -five or 
 fifty miles, it becomes so exceedingly -rare, as to be 
 unfit for the purposes for which the lower regions 
 are so well adapted. The atmosphere, at the height 
 of fifty miles, is said to be so rare, that it has no sen- 
 sible effect on the rays of light At the height of 
 forty-five miles it loses the power of refraction ; at 
 forty -one miles it is supposed to be rarified to that 
 degree as to occupy three thousand times the space 
 it does here; and Dr. Gregory observes, that it is 
 generally agreed that there are no clouds at the height 
 of four or five miles. 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 165 
 
 It is seldom, indeed, sufficiently dense at the height 
 of two miles to be able to bear up the clouds ; so that, 
 to whatever perfection our modern aeronauts may 
 bring the art of balloon-navigation, there is not the 
 smallest probability of their being able to escape from 
 the earth to another planet. The atmosphere has its 
 limits as well as the ocean; and not only are those 
 massy bodies that are made to move in the lower- 
 parts of this great outwork of our globe confined by 
 laws, firm as chains of adamant, but the thinnest va- 
 pour, the minutest atom, the most subtile effluvia that 
 ascends the higher regions, and gain, as it were, the 
 outskirts of creation, are checked in their career by 
 the powerful mandate or the Creator, and forced to 
 return and execute his orders. 
 
 Happy, indeed, for the world, is this ordination; 
 for, if the philosophic axiom be true that things must 
 continue as at the beginning, with respect to the quan- 
 tity of matter contained in the universe, and that, if it 
 were possible that a single atom could be lost, the 
 harmony of creation would be destroyed, what dire- 
 ful consequences must ensue, were the daring spirits 
 of adventurous men not confined by unalterable laws, 
 and the imperceptible atoms which float in the at- 
 mosphere not laid under restraint by that command 
 which says to the troubled waves of the ocean, " Hi- 
 therto shalt thou come, and no farther." 
 
 The Uses of the Atmosphere. 
 
 We have already mentioned several of the uses 
 of this invaluable and all-pervading fluid^ in point 
 
166 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 ing out some of its most remarkable peculiarities ; 
 and all we have now to do is, to notice a few, and 
 but a very few more, of the man} 7 unspeakable bless- 
 ings and advantages derived from this necessary ap- 
 pendage, which the bountiful Benefactor of the hu- 
 man race has attached to our globe. 
 
 The air, in a peculiar manner, may be said to con- 
 stitute the very essence of which life is made. When 
 the Lord created man of the dust of the ground, he 
 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, when 
 man became a living soul ; and the experience of all 
 ages amply testifies, that when men cease to breathe, 
 which is performed by means of the air, they cease 
 to live. Many days, it has been observed, we might 
 live, or even whole months, without the light of the 
 sun, or the glimmering of a star; whereas, if we are 
 deprived only for a few minutes of this aerial sup- 
 port, we sicken, we faint, we die. How thankful, 
 then, ought we to be, that of this indispensable ne- 
 cessary of life no person can deprive us. The trea- 
 sures of the earth, the verdure of the fields, and even 
 the refreshments of the stream, often contribute to 
 the luxuries of the great, while the less fortunate can 
 only behold them as humble spectators ; but, in the 
 words of an eminent naturalist, " the air no limi- 
 tations can bound, nor any landmarks restrain. In 
 this benign element, all mankind can boast an equal 
 possession; and for this we have all equal obligations 
 to Heaven." 
 
 It is equally beneficial to all the branches of the 
 animal creation; for, although some creatures dwell 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 16? 
 
 in the very bowels of the earth, or swim in the im- 
 measurable depths of the sea, yet it has been demon- 
 strated by experiment, that no sooner are they total- 
 ly deprived of air than they cease to live. By the 
 same air, also, that preserves animal life, flame is 
 fed and cherished. We all know the utility of fire, 
 and the many inconveniences to which we would 
 be exposed, were we deprived of that necessary ele- 
 ment ; but without air, in vain would the faggots be 
 piled in a heap, in vain would we apply the lighted 
 torch. Every attempt to set the hearth in a blaze, 
 in order to render our habitations more comfortable 
 during the chilling damps of winter, and every effort 
 to dispel the midnight gloom by the cheering can- 
 dle, would prove abortive. Take but away the sur- 
 rounding air, life expires, and the lighted taper goes 
 o'ut in darkness; for even an ordinary candle is said 
 to consume about a gallon of air in a minute. 
 
 Plants are also dependent on the air for support 
 and nourishment, and they cannot possibly exist 
 without it. They are continually imbibing fresh nu- 
 triment from the atmosphere It is this wondrous 
 fluid that helps to transfuse vegetable vigour into the 
 trunk of the mighty oak, and gives a blooming gaiety 
 to the spreading rose. 
 
 And how wisely is its consistence calculated for 
 answering these important purposes! It is neither 
 too thick nor too thin ; too gross nor too attenuated. 
 It rushes with ease into our lungs, in order to inflate 
 them in the act of respiration ; it forces its way into 
 the most minute tubes of the vegetable tribes. In 
 
168 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 fact, as Mr. Derham observes, it is a subtile and pe- 
 netrating matter, " fit to pervade other bodies, to 
 penetrate into the inmost recesses of nature; to ex- 
 cite, animate, and spiritualize ; and, in short, to be 
 the very soul of this lower world " 
 
 But what is very remarkable, this wonderful fluid, 
 so necessary for the existence of bodies, is also made 
 use of as a most powerful agent in the hand of Pro- 
 vidence for their destruction. It is a chaos contain- 
 ing all kinds of menstrua, and consequently possess- 
 ing powers for dissolving all bodies, by which means 
 many things, which would prove nuisances to the 
 world, are put out of the way, and reduced to their 
 first principles 
 
 The air, as well as being the medium of light and 
 vision, is also the great vehicle of sound, serving to 
 convey to the ear, by its undulating motion, all that 
 diversity of noise and modulation of tone, necessary 
 to warn us of impending danger, or attract our at- 
 tention and regard. " As I walk across the streets 
 of London," observes Mr. Hervey, "with my eye en- 
 gaged on other objects, a dray, perhaps, with all its 
 load, is driving down directly upon me; or, as I 
 ride along the road, musing and unapprehensive, a 
 chariot and six is whirling on with a rapid career, 
 at the heels of my horse. The air, like a vigilant 
 friend In pain for my welfare, immediately takes the 
 alarm ; and while the danger is at a considerable dis- 
 tance, despatches a courier to advertise me of the 
 approaching mischief. The air wafts to our senses 
 all the modulations of music, and the more agreeable 
 
OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 entertainments of refined conversation. When Cle- 
 ora tunes her song, or the nightingale imitates her 
 enchanting voice ; when wisdom takes its seat on 
 Mitio's tongue, and flows in perspicuous periods 
 and instructive truths amidst the chosen circle of his 
 acquaintance ; when benevolence, associated with 
 persuasion, dw r ell on Nicander's lips, and plead the 
 cause of injured innocence or oppressed virtue;- 
 when goodness, leagued with happiness, accompany 
 Eusebius into the pulpit, and reclaim the libertine 
 from the slavery of his vices; disengage the infidel 
 from the fascination of his prejudices ; and so affec- 
 tionately, so pathetically, iftvite the whole audience 
 to partake the unequalled joys of pure religion in 
 all these cases the air distributes every musical vari- 
 ation with the utmost exactness, and delivers the 
 speaker's message with the most punctual fidelity " 
 The air is also made highly subservient to the sense 
 of smelling. " It undertakes (says the same author) 
 to convey to our nostrils the extremely subtile effluvia 
 which transpire from odoriferous bodies. Those de- 
 tached particles are so imperceptibly small that they 
 would elude the most careful hand, or escape the 
 nicest eye; but this trusty depository receives and 
 escorts the invisible vagrants without losing so much 
 as a single atom, entertaining us, by this means, with 
 the delightful sensations which arise from the fra- 
 grance of flowers ; and admonishing us, by the trans- 
 mission of offensive smells, to withdraw from an un- 
 wholesome situation, or beware of pernicious food. 7 ' 
 
170 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 Thus does the air administer to the senses of see- 
 ing and smelling. Happy, however, ought we to 
 account ourselves, that, so often charged with noi- 
 some effluvia and noxious vapours, it does not ren- 
 der these susceptible to the taste; and although it 
 certainly is a body corporeal, and may at times be 
 felt, yet, its resistance in ordinary cases, when it is 
 unagitated and unconfined, is so undistinguishable as 
 to occasion no inconvenience. 
 
 The region of the atmosphere is the great thorough- 
 fare to the feathery creation ; it is, if we may so speak, 
 the king's highway for the fowls of heaven, where 
 they perform their lengthened journeys with expe- 
 dition and safety, and range and expatiate beyond 
 the reach of danger. It is by this element, also, that 
 the inhabitant of the waters is enabled to work his 
 little philosophical engine with effect; for, without 
 the aid of this subtile fluid, the empty vesicle would 
 have remained a piece of useless lumber 
 
 We cannot as yet say, there go the balloons, as if 
 the atmosphere, like the sea, had become the esta- 
 blished medium of commerce and travelling; but the 
 art has already attained to such a degree of perfec- 
 tion, as render it not improbable that a voyage in the 
 air will be regarded one day, by the generality of 
 mankind, with less awe than was evinced by those 
 who first witnessed the adventurous navigator push 
 his bark out of sight of land, beyond the pillars of 
 Hercules 
 
 As all the rivers run into the sea, and deposit their 
 contents in its capacious bosom, so do all the exha- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 171 
 
 Kiiions that arise from terrestrial bodies ascend into 
 the atmosphere. To this capacious alembic take 
 their flight, not only the aqueous vapours that pro- 
 ceed from the sea, the rivers, and moist places of the 
 earth, but the steam or smoke of things melted or 
 burnt; the perspiring fumes of whatever enjoys life; 
 and the effluvia they emit when deprived of it, and 
 in a state of putrescence. How then, it may be 
 asked, is this heterogeneous mass preserved from 
 corruption, and purified from its offensive qualities ? 
 For, if by respiration, flame, and putrefaction, air is 
 rendered unfit for the support of animal life, there 
 can be no doubt, as Dr. Paley observes, by the con- 
 stant operation of these corrupting principles, the 
 whole atmosphere, if there were no restoring causes, 
 would come at length to be deprived of its necessary 
 degree of purity. 
 
 Among these causes the Doctor mentions vegeta- 
 tion, and agitation with water, both of which have 
 been proved by experiment to have the effect of at- 
 mospherical restoratives; for a sprig of mint, corked 
 up with a small portion of foul air, placed in the light, 
 renders it again capable of supporting life and flame ; 
 and the foulest air, shaken in a bottle with water, 
 for a sufficient length of time, recovers a great de- 
 gree of its purity. Here we see the salutary effects 
 of storms and tempests the yesty waves, which 
 confound the heaven and the sea, are doing the very 
 thing, but upon a larger scale, which was done in 
 the bottle. And, in as far as the lower regions are 
 concerned, these, on account of their wide extension, 
 
172 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 must be attended with most beneficial consequences; 
 but as the sea, for its purity, is not dependent on any 
 one cause, so the atmosphere, besides these external 
 restoratives, will be found to contain, in its own bo- 
 som, a correcting principle, which developes itself 
 by its salutary operations, as we shall soon have oc- 
 casion to notice, in speaking of some of the most 
 remarkable of the phenomena of the atmosphere. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 PHENOMENA OF THE ATMOSPHERE; 
 
 " Of what important use to human kind, 
 
 To what great ends subservient is the wind? 
 
 Where'er the aerial, active vapour flies, 
 
 It drives the clouds, and ventilates the skies ; 
 
 Sweeps from the earth infection's noxious train, 
 
 And swells to wholesome rage the sluggish main!" 
 
 The Wind. 
 
 SOMETIMES there is a profound calm ; every wind 
 is hushed; not a zephyr breathes over the face of 
 creation, and not a breeze disturbs the glassy ex- 
 panse of the lake; but the appearance is deceitful 
 and short lived ; all on a sudden the wind is heard 
 rustling among the branches it gathers strength as 
 it proceeds, and grow r s up into the majesty of a storm. 
 Now the raging tempest spends its fury; houses are 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 173 
 
 swept from their foundations ; navies are rent from 
 their anchors ; trees are torn up by the roots. This 
 we call wind ; and whether its effects appear in the 
 fury of the gale, the violence of the hurricane, the 
 impetuosity of the whirlwind, the dryness of the har- 
 mattan, the deleteriousness of the sirocco, or the mor- 
 tifying influence of the samiel, it becomes us not to 
 repine at the dispensations of the Almighty, or ac- 
 count those the most deplorable evils, which are wise- 
 ly sent us for the best of purposes. 
 
 We have already noticed the bad effects that would 
 accrue, were il not for the agitation of the ocean ; but 
 more dreadful would be the consequences, 
 
 Did neither air nor ocean feel the wind. 
 
 Motion is the soul of the universe; it is as necessary 
 in the air as in the ocean, and both are no less indis- 
 pensable than the motion of the sap of plants, and 
 the circulation of the blood in animals. 
 
 It is, however, happily so ordered, that where pu- 
 trefaction in a state of quiescence would soon prevail, 
 wholesome breezes and salutary gales alternately 
 spring up, to sweep destruction from the aerial fluid, 
 and where heat is felt to an alarming degree, the 
 atmosphere extends its airy wings to fan a fainting 
 world. 
 
 " This principle, as Dr. Gregory observes, we 
 find realized on a great scale in what are called the 
 trade winds, which blow constantly from east to 
 west, near the equator. The sun rises in the east 
 
174 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 and sets in the west, consequently the air will be 
 heated gradually from east to west, and the wind 
 will blow in that direction." The same cause, this 
 author remarks, will explain " the land and sea 
 breezes in the tropical climates;" and the monsoons, 
 though the theory of them be more complicated, origi- 
 nate in the same cause 
 
 And as it is not only necessary that there be a con- 
 tinual agitation kept up in the ocean, by means of 
 the tides and currents, but, in order to prevent its wa- 
 ters from being contaminated by those numerous 
 loads of filth which are, from all quarters, poured into 
 it, it is also requisite that it be furnished with some- 
 thing of a correcting nature, which it has in its salt- 
 ness. So in the atmosphere, besides the perpetual 
 motion kept up in it by means of the winds, and the 
 beneficial consequences proceeding from vegetation 
 and the agitation of the waters, there must be also 
 some correcting quality, especially prevalent in the 
 upper regions, where a number of the most noxious 
 particles, and a considerable quantity of vitiated ef- 
 fluvia, must ascend? perhaps beyond the reach of the 
 other purifying agents. This, it is probable, is the 
 chief cause of the electric fluid, which, although it is 
 found to pervade the whole mass of creation, is sup- 
 posed to be much more copious in the upper than in 
 the lower parts of the atmosphere. 
 
 In the lower regions of the firmament, indeed, the 
 tremendous noise of the thunder is heard, and the 
 vivid lightnings are seen to flash ; but these only hap- 
 pen on extraordinary occasions, or where their pre- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 175 
 
 sence is absolutely necessary to restore the equilibri- 
 um of the lower tracts, in the same manner as the 
 tempest is sometimes sent to agitate, in an uncommon 
 degree, the surface of the ocean; but far more fre- 
 quent, we may suppose, is the busy working of the 
 lightning in the higher regions of the air, although it 
 may be concealed by the density of its lower extre- 
 mities at times from our view. The glancing of the 
 wild fire, as the vulgar style it, and the playful skip, 
 ping of the aurora borealis, give us sufficient inti- 
 mation, that, in the silent hours of rest and repose, 
 the great Supreme faints not, neither is weary, but 
 is busily employed in the unceasing operations of 
 his providence, when our senses are locked in mid- 
 night slumbers, and refreshing sleep stretches her 
 balmy wings over a fatigued world. 
 
 Besides these, which may be called the principal, 
 there are also a number of other fiery meteors. Fire- 
 balls, in all the glare of terrific magnificence, are 
 sometimes seen to rush across the hemisphere Fall- 
 ing stars are observed to shoot with astonishing ra- 
 pidity. The Ignis-fatuus, Will with-the- wisp, or 
 Jack-with-a lanthorn, as it is called, glides along by 
 the sides of hedges or ditches in moist situations, and 
 sometimes takes up his abode among the graves of 
 the dead, or is seen in the neighbourhood of dung- 
 hills; but these, as well as the fiery Dragon, the skip- 
 ping Goat, the Dart and the Lamp, with every other 
 appearance that the unsubstantial and airy form may 
 assume, may all be accounted for on the principles 
 of electricity. 
 
JT6 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 Watery Meteors. 
 
 In the regions of the air, a variety of watery me- 
 teors are formed. Here are fogs, the creation of 
 those collections of vapours which chiefly rise from 
 fenny, moist places. These become more visible as 
 the light of day decreaseth, and, uniting with those 
 that rise from the waters, so as to fill the air with 
 their humid particles, are called mists. Sometimes, 
 especially in the summer months, our morning walks 
 sparkle with pellucid drops, and transparent globules 
 hang pendant from every leaf, in the form of pearly 
 dew. 
 
 In the atmosphere, the balancings of the clouds 
 are preserved, till these swimming lakes are commis- 
 sioned to discharge their contents, not in deluging 
 torrents, confined to particular spots, but in refresh- 
 ing showers, widely spread abroad in the form of 
 drops of rain. Here, too, that wonderful phenome- 
 non snow takes its rise, which is said to be composed 
 of such vapours as are frozen while the particles are 
 small ; and hail, which is rain frozen, as hoar frost 
 is said to be of the dew. Water-spouts may be rec- 
 koned among the number of watery meteors; but, 
 having already been noticed in a preceding chapter, 
 (chap x.) we shall pass them over, and proceed to 
 the consideration of a few of the most remarkable 
 
 Celestial Appearances. 
 
 The wonderful and beautiful colours which we ob- 
 serve in the clouds, is owing to their particular situ- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 177 
 
 ation to the sun, and the dift'erent modifications under 
 which they reflect his light. The various appear- 
 ances and fantastic figures they assume, probably 
 proceed from their loose and voluble texture, revolv- 
 ing into any form by the force or activity of the winds, 
 or by the electricity contained in their substance. 
 
 But, of all the celestial appearances we can behold, 
 what can be compared to the beauty of the rainbow? 
 What a majestic and stupendous arch does this won- 
 derful phenomenon present to our view, and how 
 beautifully is it tinged in regular order, by all the 
 primogenml colours in nature ! 
 
 Yet, this gorgeous arch is instantaneously erected, 
 and at no expense : the commission is sent forth, and 
 it springs into existence, merely by the operation of 
 the sunbeams on the watery particles that float in the 
 atmosphere The rainbow, it must be observed, is 
 always seen in an opposite direction from the sun, 
 and that it is occasioned by the reflection and refrac- 
 tion of his rays, at a certain angle or distance from 
 the eye of the spectator, must be evident to every 
 person who has tried the experiment of the silly boy 
 in the fable, and gone in pursuit of the treasures at 
 the end of it. 
 
 Sometimes, too, we have lunar rainbows; but 
 these shine with inferior lustre ; and what more can 
 we expect from the reflected light of a body, such 
 as the moon that shines itself by reflection? Halos 
 are supposed to be occasioned by the refraction of the 
 light of the sun or moon on. the frozen particles that 
 surround them in frosty weather; and what are called 
 
178 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 parhelia, or mock-suns, and paraselenes, or mock- 
 moons, are only representations by the reflection of 
 the face of the true sun or moon from some of the 
 clouds, which are placed at a convenient distance to 
 produce the effect. 
 
 The Uses of Atmospheric Phenomena, 
 Meteors, fyc. 
 
 Without entering upon the vast utility of the winds 
 in the world of art, with the many purposes to which 
 they are made subservient arid applied, in navigation, 
 agriculture, manufactures, trade and commerce; or 
 recapitulating what we have already said respecting 
 their vast import in the preserving the equilibrium 
 and salubrity of the atmosphere, we w r ill briefly ob- 
 serve, that the wind may be said to act the important 
 part of Nature's great husbandman, by scattering 
 abroad the productive principles of a multitude of 
 plants ; and, instead of that imaginary water bearer 
 which the ancients traced out among the stars, the 
 eye of modern philosophy has discovered, in the ope- 
 rations of the wind, a real Aquarius in the heavens, 
 bearing about his precious treasures, and dispensing 
 them where most wanted. 
 
 Electricity is, indeed, a most powerful agent in 
 nature, and we are probably but acquainted, as yet, 
 with a small proportion of its wonderful effects ; but, 
 from what we do know, we have reason to conclude 
 that the benefits to be derived from this all pervading 
 principle are numerous as the appearance it puts on ; 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 179 
 
 are infinite as its extent. Since the phenomena pro- 
 duced by this fluid have been observed with atten- 
 tion, the true cause of thunder and lightning seems 
 to be ascertained. As the motion of light is almost 
 instantaneous, and that of sound is at the rate of a 
 league in forty pulsations, the distance of thunder 
 may be easily ascertained; for, if we can count thir- 
 teen pulsations between the flash and the sound, the 
 thunder will be about a mile off. A means, how- 
 ever, has been invented, by which houses, ships, and 
 other buildings, may be secured from its ravages, 
 and places of the greatest safety, in thunder storms, 
 pointed out; but what are the evils experienced from 
 thunder storms, when put in competition with the ad- 
 vantages to be derived from them? What would 
 the atmosphere, it may be observed, become, but for 
 the winds? But, notwithstanding the blessings de- 
 rived from those wholesome ventilations, what would 
 become of the atmosphere itself, were it not for the 
 loud-roaring thunder, the forked lightning, and all 
 the other varieties of electrical phenomena, which 
 purge the air of those noxious substances that are con- 
 tinually mixing with it, and purify, by fire, the upper 
 regions, where so many light, inflammatory sub- 
 stances, are arrested .in their course? 
 
 There appears to be a continual circulation going 
 on in the atmosphere, by which the inflammable air, 
 generated between the tropics, is made to ascend, by 
 its lightness, to the upper regions, where, by the mo- 
 tion of the earth, it is urged to the poles ; hence, the 
 inflammatory exhalations continually arriving and 
 
180 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 taking fire as they approach, are made to form those 
 beautiful appearances called northern and southern 
 lights, which, although they are oft invisible by the 
 thickness of the weather, at other times amuse the 
 inhabitants, even of our climate, in clear frosty wea- 
 ther; and these merry dancers, as the vulgar call 
 them, are no doubt of infinite service to the people 
 of the polar regions, by imparting a lengthened, if 
 not uninterrupted supply of that light and cheerful- 
 ness, of which they would otherwise be deprived 
 during their protracted winter. 
 
 Were it not for the beneficial operations of the 
 electric spark, which is always ready at the com- 
 mand of its Maker, to kindle these combustible ma- 
 terials before they become sufficiently accumulated 
 to involve the whole in one universal conflagration, 
 the world, it is probable, would long ere now have 
 been destroyed by fire. There is no occasion (ac- 
 cording to the opinions of some theorists) for calling 
 in the aid of a comet to complete this work of de- 
 struction. The Almighty has only to suspend the 
 operations of his fiery meteors, and the elements will 
 soon become sufficiently inflammatory to catch fire 
 by a single spark; so that, in fact, those terrific mo- 
 nitors of the gazing crowd, instead of being certain 
 indications that an incensed Deity is about to inflict 
 the effects of his hot displeasure on a guilty world, 
 according to the language of philosophy and the 
 whispers of religion, are rather convincing tokens 
 that " His mercy is not yet clean gone, that the Lord 
 has not forgotten to be gracious." 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 181 
 
 The use of fogs and mists on the tender herbs, in 
 the absence of rain, is well known to the grazier and 
 agriculturist; and so sensible was the good man of 
 the land of Uz, of the importance of what some may 
 reckon among the inferior kinds of watery meteors, 
 (although it is the surest and most universal which 
 the wise Ruler of the world makes use of to render 
 the earth fruitful) that, when he asks the question, 
 " Has the rain a father?' he does not forget to add, 
 " Who has forgotten the drops of the dew?" 
 
 From the clouds proceed not only those fertilizing 
 showers that drop down fatness, and the windy cur- 
 rents that, to a surprising degree, agitate the air in 
 warm climates, but, by intervening between the earth 
 and the scorching rays of the sun, they serve as 
 screens to protect from injury the grass and tender 
 herbs, and also act the part of conducting mediums, 
 by which the electric fluid is conveyed not only from 
 the atmosphere to the earth, and from the earth to 
 the atmosphere, but from one end of the heavens to 
 the other. 
 
 Of all the blessings poured out of the treasures of 
 Providence, there is none, perhaps, of which man is 
 more sensible than that of rain. What an alteration 
 on the face of the earth does a seasonable shower 
 produce ! No wonder that the Psalmist, when con- 
 templating such a scene, breaks out in such language 
 as this: " Thou visitest the earth and waterest it: 
 thou makest it soft with showers : thou blessest the 
 sprinkling thereof: the little hills rejoice on every 
 side: the pastures are clothed with flocks: the val- 
 
 R 
 
182 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 lies also are covered over with corn ; they shout for 
 joy, they also sing." Nay, the very manner in which 
 this blessing is made to descend, claims at once our 
 admiration and gratitude; for, in general, the rain 
 descends in gentle showers, but, in the case of thun- 
 der, there is an exception, when it pours down with 
 impetuosity and in torrents ; but let it be remarked, 
 that here it acts the part of a life-preserver ; for, when 
 once wet, our clothes become excellent conductors 
 to carry off the electric fluid to the earth. 
 
 Even frost and snow have their uses. Hail is 
 known to cool the air in summer; and experience 
 has demonstrated, that " nature could not give a bet- 
 ter covering than snow to secure the corn, the plants 
 and trees, from the effects of cold in winter; and if 
 a frost succeeds after a ploughed field has been well 
 watered by the autumnal rains, the particles of the 
 earth dilute and separate, and the spring then com- 
 pletes the making the earth light, moveable, and fit 
 to receive the kindly influence of the sun and fine 
 weather." 
 
 Water-spouts at sea seem to proceed from the 
 same cause as whirlwinds upon land, and if these 
 serve the purpose of carrying up the superabundance 
 of the jelectric fluid from the earth to the atmosphere, 
 as is with good reason supposed, their utility, in the 
 economy of nature, must be apparent. 
 
 With regard to those illusory appearances that 
 \ve behold in the heavens, do they not teach us in a 
 language plain, evident, and forcible, how easily we 
 may be deceived by our senses, and of the conse- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 183 
 
 quent importance of placing our actions under the 
 guidance of that reason which distinguishes man 
 from the brute creation, and was kindly given him 
 as a lamp to his feet, and a light to his path ? 
 
 5 Tis Reason our Great Master holds so dear ; 
 'Tis Reason's injured rights His wrath resents ; 
 'Tis Reasons's voice obey'd His glorious crown ; 
 To give lost Reason life, He poured his own. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 fyJANGES OF THE SEASONS, AND VICISSITUDES 
 OF DAY AND NIGHT. 
 
 ' These, as they change, Almighty Father these 
 Are but the varied God. The rolling year 
 Isfullof7%ee!" 
 
 THE Earth, surrounded by the Atmosphere, re- 
 mains not at rest ; for, as we observed in a preced- 
 ing chapter, the latter is made to revolve with the 
 former in its diurnal motion, and to circle with it in 
 its annual course. 
 
 Before proceeding farther in our researches, we 
 will therefore, turn our attention for a few minutes 
 to this two-fold motion of the earth, which although 
 it would not, but for external objects, be perceptible 
 t<rour senses, is rendered extremely important, on 
 account of the beneficial effects it produces. 
 
184 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEtf. 
 
 " Of all the effects resulting from this admirable 
 scene of things," says Bonycastle, " nothing can be 
 more pleasing and agreeable to a philosophic mind, 
 than the alternate succession of day and night, and 
 the regular return of the seasons. When the sun first 
 appears in the horizon, all nature is animated by his 
 presence; the magnificent theatre of the universe 
 opens gradually to our view, and every object around 
 us excites ideas of pleasure, admiration, and won- 
 der. After riding in all his brightness through the 
 vault of heaven, he is again hidden from our sight ; 
 and we are now presented with a new spectacle of 
 equal grandeur and sublimity. The heavens are on 
 a sudden covered with innumerable stars ; the moon, 
 rising in a clouded majesty, unveils her peerless 
 light; whilst the silent solemnity of the scene, fills 
 the mind with sentiments and ideas beyond the 
 power of language to express. 
 
 " Variety is the source of every pleasure ; and the 
 bountiful Author of Nature, in the magnificent dis- 
 play of wisdom and power, has afforded us every 
 possible means of entertainment and instruction. 
 What a pleasing succession of scenes results from 
 the gradual vicissitudes of the seasons ! Summer, 
 Winter, Spring, and Autumn, lead us insensibly 
 through the varied circle of the year; and are no 
 less pleasing to the mind, than necessary towards 
 bringing to maturity the various productions of the 
 earth. Whether the sun flames on the tropic, or pows 
 his mild effulgence from the equator, we equally re- 
 joice in his presence, and adore that Omniscient 
 
BOOK. OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 Being, who gave him his appointed course, and 
 prescribed the bounds which he can never pass." 
 
 But how is tliis pleasing and useful variety produc- 
 ed? How is this perpetual succession of Day and 
 Night, of Spring and Summer, of Autumn and Win- 
 ter, kept up? It is by means simple, but evidently 
 striking, to the man of science and discernment. By 
 the revolution of the earth on its axis, once in twenty- 
 four hours, we have the alternate succession of day 
 and night; by its annual circuit round the sun, to- 
 gether with the inclination of its poles (lying always 
 in the same direction) to the plane of its orbit, we 
 experience all that variety of season, which is so in- 
 dispensibly necessary for the springing up, ripening, 
 and in gathering of the fruits of the earth. 
 
 By this constitution of things, that part of the 
 earth's surface which is turned towards the sun, 
 must have the largest share of his visible presence at 
 the time ; hence, when the earth is south of that lu- 
 minary, the inhabitants of the regions north of the 
 equator, must have their summer ; and, on the con- 
 trary, those wno dwell in the southern latitudes, 
 must have their winter: but reverse the case, and 
 suppose the earth in that part of her orbit which is 
 north of the sun, and the inhabitants between the 
 equator and south pole must have their longest days, 
 while those who dwell on the opposite side, of course 
 must have their shortest. At the equinoctial points^, 
 the axis of the earth being parallel ta the san^ and 
 neither turned in to,, nor out from him, .it aecessariljr 
 Mows, that at those precise times, and HO 
 
186 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN". 
 
 the days and nights must be equal throughout the 
 globe; for the instant that the north pole gets be- 
 yond the vernal equinox in spring, it emerges into 
 the sun's light, and the people who inhabit the arctic 
 regions, have six months of perpetual day; while 
 those at the south pole, or contrary extremity of the 
 earth, have an equal duration of protracted night. 
 At the opposite season of the autumnal equinox, the 
 reverse takes place. In the intermediate spaces be- 
 tween the poles and the equator, the inhabitants 
 experience all that vicissitude of light and shade, to 
 which their situations expose them; and which, in 
 the absence of a globe, may be tolerably well illus- 
 trated by suspending a large wooden bowl from the 
 hand, and making it revolve round a lighted candle, 
 with its axis inclined a little to one side, and point- 
 ing always in the same direction. If, at the same 
 time, this bowl could be made to turn incessantly 
 round on its axis in the progress of its revolution, it 
 would afford a pretty accurate idea how the vicissi- 
 tudes of day and night are produced. 
 
 Let us attend a little to some of th*e beneficial con- 
 sequences of this " ever varying, ever changing 
 scene." Spring is characterized as the season of 
 the renovation of nature; in which animals and ve- 
 getables, excited by the kindly influence of returning 
 warmth, shake off the torpid inaction of winter, and 
 prepare for the continuance and increase of their se- 
 veral species. " A soft and pleasing languor, 
 interrupted only by the gradual progression of the 
 vegetable and animal tribes towards their state of 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 maturity, forms the leading character of Summer, 
 In Autumn the promise of the spring is fulfilled. 
 The silent and gradual progress of maturation is 
 completed, and human industry beholds with tri- 
 umph the rich production of its toil. The unvarying 
 symptoms of approaching Winter now warn several 
 of the winged tribes to prepare for their aerial voy- 
 age to those happy climates where no deficiency of 
 food or shelter can ever distress them ; and, about 
 the same time, other fowls of hardier constitutions, 
 which are contented with escaping the iron winters 
 of the arctic regions, arrive to supply their place. 
 From the fall of the leaf, and withering of the herb, 
 an unvarying, death-like torpor oppresses almost the 
 whole vegetable creation, and a considerable part 
 of the animal, during this entire portion of the year: 
 but this state is not always to continue; it is a time 
 of renovation and refreshment: a time shall come, 
 when many that sleep in the dust shall awake, and 
 shine forth gloriously at the return of spring. 
 
 Day is the season of labour and activity ; Night is 
 the time for rest and repose. Man goeth forth to 
 his labour in the morning, and returns to recruit his 
 exhausted powers in the evening ; and what an ad- 
 mirable provision for this purpose is sleep, which 
 introduces a most welcome vacation, both for the 
 soul and body, during which the exercises of the 
 brain, and the labours of the hands, are at once dis- 
 continued. 
 
 These are some of the inestimable blessings de- 
 rived from the changes of the seasons, and the alter- 
 
188 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 nate succession of day and night; but to man they 
 speak also a moral lesson. 
 
 " Behold, fond man ! 
 
 See here thy pictur'd life ; pass some few years 
 
 Thy flow'ring Spring, thy Summer's ardent strength^ 
 
 Thy sober Autumn fading into age, 
 
 And pale concluding Winter comes at last, 
 
 And shuts the scene. Ah ! whither now are fled 
 
 Those dreams of greatness 1 
 
 Virtue sole survives, 
 
 Immortal, never-failing friend of man." 
 
 4 * Each night we die, each day are born anew." 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 THE MOON. 
 
 (t As when the moon, refulgent lamp of night,, 
 O'er heaven's clear azure sheds her sacred light, 
 Then shine the vales ; the rocks in prospect rise ; 
 A flood of glory bursts from all the skies.'* 
 
 FROM the earth and the atmosphere we will now 
 ascend in onr speculations, and, in our way to re- 
 gions more remote, turn aside a little and consider 
 the Moon. 
 
 The first thing that strikes our attention in view- 
 ing this resplendent luminary, is the opacity of hey 
 substance, and diversity of her shades. The Moon 
 is not, of herself, a luminary, but shines by the bor- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 189 
 
 rowed or reflected light of the sun, and her face, in- 
 stead of being too dazzling to behold, presents, like 
 the earth, a dark unequal surface, pleasantly diver- 
 sified with hills and vallies, mountains and cavities. 
 Seas and lakes have also been exhibited as adorning 
 this body, by the constructors of some maps of the 
 moon ; but the powerful glasses of Dr. Herschel are 
 said to have dissipated such delusions; and, as it 
 appears from the clearness of her disk, and the cir- 
 cumstance that, when any star approaches her, it 
 retains its lustre till it touches the very edge, and then 
 vanishes in an instant; that the moon has no at- 
 mosphere, there is the less probability that there are 
 lakes and seas, from which clouds and other atmo- 
 spheric phenomena are formed. 
 
 The Phases of the Moon, 
 
 And the circumstance of her having always the same 
 face turned to us, are very rationally accounted for 
 as follows. The moon is known to have a twofold 
 motion ; the one she performs round the earth in the 
 time of a lunar month, and the other she performs 
 round her own axis in exactly the same period. By 
 the latter motion, she naturally behoves to turn al- 
 ways the same face to the earth ; and, by the former, 
 her various phases are produced. When that part 
 of the moon which is illuminated by the sun, is turn- 
 ed wholly towards the earth, we then see one of her 
 sides, round and fully enlightened, and in that situ- 
 ation we say w&have a full moon; when the side 
 
190 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 illuminated is turned from us, by being between us 
 and the sun, she becomes totally invisible, and then 
 we have the change ; when, shortly after, the en- 
 lightened part re-appears, we call it the new moon ; 
 and when it exhibits a half-enlightened aspect, the 
 moon is said to be in her first or last quarter, accord- 
 ing to the time of her age. These appearances, with 
 all the intermediate stages, will be pretty correctly 
 represented by moving the bowl, formerly alluded 
 to, round the flame of a candle, when suspended by 
 a string, and observing in what manner the light is 
 reflected from its surface, according to the various po- 
 sitions in which it is placed in the course of its circuit, 
 
 Eclipses. 
 
 There are no phenomena better understood by 
 modern astronomers than the nature of eclipses; and 
 so far is there from being any thing supernatural or 
 mysterious in them, that were the orbit of the moon 
 perfectly parallel, or in the exact plane of the earth, 
 there would be an eclipse of the moon at every full, 
 and of the sun at every change ; for there is not a 
 doubt that an eclipse of the moon is occasioned by 
 the dark body of the earth happening to be in a line 
 between the sun and the moon, when the moon is 
 in a direction opposite to the sun ; while an eclipse 
 of the sun is caused by the dark body of the moon 
 passing between the earth and the sun, when she is 
 in that part of the heavens. That eclipses do not 
 more frequently happen, arises from the orbit of the 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 191 
 
 moon being wisely made to incline to that of the earth 
 at a small angle ; by which, although they some- 
 times take place, it is so unfrequent, as not to exceed, 
 at the average, four in the year ; and of these, two 
 only may be expected visible at any particular place. 
 
 Tlie Harvest-Moon. 
 
 In the path which she describes in the heavens, the 
 moon is made to rise every day later than she did 
 on the preceding; but the exact period between the 
 time of her rising differs so considerably in different 
 seasons of the year, that although in the spring she 
 is an hour and twenty minutes later in rising one day 
 than she was on the preceding, the difference in au- 
 tumn is so inconsiderable, as scarcely to be perceived 
 for several days together. No sooner does the sun 
 set towards the middle of September, than the moon 
 immediately rises in her glory for several days, by 
 which the day is considerably lengthened out in that 
 most important of all seasons; and Nature, as it 
 were, points to the husbandman to make the best of 
 his time in cutting down and securing his crops be- 
 fore the equinoctial gales and storms of winter set in. 
 This wonderful phenomenon, although too little at- 
 tended to by us, has been distinguished, in different 
 ages of the world, by different appellations, accord- 
 ing to the favourite occupations and pursuits in which 
 mankind happened to be engaged at the time; be- 
 ing first called the Hunter's, then the Shepherd's, 
 and now the Harvest-Moon. 
 
192 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OP&S. 
 
 About the equator, where there is no variety of 
 seasons, the moon rises, with the greatest regularity, 
 about forty-nine minutes later every day than on the 
 preceding; but as we advance north or south from 
 that line, and get in a more variable climate, the lit- 
 tle difference in the rising of the Harvest Moon be- 
 comes more perceptible. At the polar circles, where 
 the mild season is very precarious, and of short du- 
 ration at that advanced season of the year, the au- 
 tumnal full-moon rises at sunset, from the first till 
 the third quarter; and, at the poles, where the sun 
 is half a year below the horizon, the winter full-moon 
 shines constantly from the first to the third quarter. 
 
 In these respects the moon, that faithful compa- 
 nion and attendant on the earth, may be said to pro- 
 portion her services to the emergency of the occa- 
 sion ; but even in the ordinary aid she affords, in the 
 absence of sunshine, her influences are of infinite ad- 
 vantage. The Hebrews, the Greeks, the Romans, 
 and. indeed, the ancients in general were wont to 
 assemble, at the time of the new moon, to discharge 
 the duties of gratitude and devotion. The oldest 
 measure of time, taken from the revolutions of the 
 heavenly bodies, is supposed to be a month; and 
 when the king of the Felew Islands entrusted his 
 son to the care of Captain Wilson, he inquired how 
 many moons would elapse before he might expect 
 his return. 
 
 By the dark, opaque, and unequal surface of the 
 moon, the light of the sun is reflected to the earth, 
 after thai superb and glorious luminary has left our 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 193 
 
 hemisphere to visit other climes ; and what a tran- 
 scendanlly magnificent spectacle does a moonlight 
 scene present, independent of the incalculable bles- 
 sings it is made to produce. How welcome are the 
 harbingers of this bright luminary to the toiling tra- 
 veller, when almost fainting under his unremitting, 
 but fruitless exertions, to gain the goal of his journey 
 before the close of the day. How comfortable to 
 the bewildered mariner as he ploughs the deep on 
 an unknown coast; and how cheerful to the lonely 
 shepherd, as he tends his fleecy charge in the other- 
 wise deep gloom of some sequestered valley, or 
 tunes his midnight pipe among the solitary tops of 
 his native mountains Even on the mighty ocean 
 the moon extends her influence; the waves of the 
 sea are swollen and lifted up by the energy of her 
 power; and it is far from being improbable, that 
 what has su<5h an effect upon this great fluid mass, 
 may not also make some very important and sensi- 
 ble impressions on that atmosphere, in whose agita- 
 tions and changes we are so much interested. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 THE SUN. 
 
 Great source of day ! best image here below 
 Of thy Creator, ever pouring wide, 
 From world to world, the vital ocean round ; 
 On nature write with every beam His praise." 
 
 FROM the earth and its companion, the moon, we 
 will now direct our attention to yonder radiant orb, 
 
194 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 which fills the heavens with his rays, and cheers the 
 earth with his presence The Sun is, indeed, a most 
 glorious luminary; and is, without doubt, the most 
 perfect image of his great Creator that we can be- 
 hold among inanimate beings; and, indeed, so nigh, 
 in one respect, does he resemble his Maker, that of 
 the Sun it may be said that he, also, is 
 
 *' Too glorious to be gaz'd on in his sphere." 
 
 It is no wonder, then, that the fallen reason of 
 'idolatrous nations " should mistake so fair a copy for 
 the adorable original," and that philosophers should 
 be divided so much in their opinions respecting his 
 substance. In one thing, however, even from the 
 imperfect glance we have been able to procure of 
 this glorious body, it is found to differ from, and to 
 fall infinitely short of, its Creator; for the Sun has 
 his spots, while He, who made the Sun, is 
 
 Light itself, 
 
 Pure, spotless, uncreated light, ineffable." 
 
 According to Dr. Gregory, " the sun is very ge- 
 nerally considered as composed of the matter of light 
 and heat, whether these are to be regarded essen- 
 tially the same or not:" but he is careful how he ex- 
 presses himself, even in this cautious manner of de- 
 claring his sentiments ; for he adds, " perhaps it will 
 be speaking more correctly to say, that he is the 
 source of both, and that he both warms and enlight- 
 ens the bodies which surround him." The sun is, 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 195 
 
 indeed, the great fountain of light and heat, and it is 
 amazing to think with what rapidity of motion he 
 sends forth his rays to illumine and cherish the world; 
 for so great is the distance of this bright body from 
 us, that, were the motion of light no swifter than a 
 cannon ball, it would take, according to the compu- 
 tation of philosophers, thirty-two years in arriving 
 at the earth; and, were it no swifter than sound, it 
 would take upwards of seventeen years; but light 
 flies with such incredible velocity that it arrives at 
 the earth in about seven or eight minutes, being at the 
 rate of no less than 200,000 English miles in a second 
 of time. By this means the inconvenience that w r ould 
 result from a slower progress of light is obviated, 
 and the kindly effects of this inestimable and indis- 
 pensable blessing are conveyed to us in an instant. 
 
 The rays of the sun are. not sparingly dispensed, 
 nor come to us as from a niggardly hand. The rays 
 of light are copiously diffused, and in sufficient abun- 
 dance to chase away the most minute vestige of the 
 shades of night. The extension of light is a most 
 valuable property of that great and invaluable bless- 
 ing; for it is by it that \ve are enabled to see bodies 
 at a distance during the day, and, by the same ope- 
 rating cause, the mariner, during the hours of dark- 
 ness, observes the fiery beacon glimmering from afar. 
 
 The heat of the sun is also most potent in its ope- 
 rations. With ease it penetrates into the bowels of 
 the earth, and finds its way into the most secret re- 
 cesses of nature; so that, in the expressive language 
 of Scripture, " there is nothing hid from the heat 
 
196 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 thereof." But, indeed, what could possibly exist 
 without it? The sun may be truly styled the grand 
 enlivening principle of the universe; without his in- 
 fiue/ice, the crimson tide behoved to stagnate in the 
 veins of animated beings; a the trees could never 
 break forth into leaves, nor plants spring up into 
 flowers;" we would no more behold the meadows 
 mantled over with green, nor the vallies standing 
 thick with corn; or, to speak in the beautiful lan- 
 guage of a prophet, u No longer would the fig-tree 
 blossom, nor fruit be in the vine: the labour of the 
 olive would fail, and the fields would yield no meat: 
 the flocks must be cut off from the fold, and there 
 would be no herd in the stall." It penetrates the 
 beds of metal, and finds its way to the place of sap- 
 phires. In short, the beneficial agency of this mag- 
 nificent luminary is inexpressible. 
 
 The sun is also the fountain of cheerfulness. While 
 all nature is enlivened by his presence, it is also 
 cheered by his gifts. " Truly," says Solomon, " the 
 light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes 
 to behold the sun." And the author of" The Spec- 
 tator" has well observed, that the sun has a particu- 
 lar influence on the mind of man, and making the 
 heart glad ; for a proof of which, he refers us to a 
 consideration of the natural world, when this lumi- 
 nous globe withdraws his rays, for a few moments, 
 by an eclipse 
 
 The human mind delights in variety; and one 
 great cause that produces cheerfulness in the heart 
 of man, as he walks abroad and contemplates the 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 3J ' / 
 
 face of nature, is no doubt that diversity of light and 
 shade, of colour and hue, that in every direction su- 
 lutes his eye. In this respect, also, the sun may be 
 said to be the fountain of cheerfulness, as it is cer- 
 tainly the cause of colour. The sun is the great lim- 
 ner of nature, .whose beautifying rays paint creation. 
 " The blushing beauties of the rose, the modest blue 
 of the violet," as Goldsmith observes, <4 are not in the 
 flowers themselves, but in the light that adorns them. 
 Odour, softness, and beauty of figure, are their own ; 
 but it is light alone that dresses them up in those 
 robes w r hich shame the monarch's glory." 
 
 The sun may, therefore, also be well styled the 
 fountain of colour ; and, but for this, what disadvan- 
 tages would we labour under, notwithstanding the 
 beneficial distribution of light and heat! In that 
 case, we would not only be unable to distinguish ob- 
 jects at a distance, and to perceive the colour of the* 
 raiment of our nearest friends, but be incapable of 
 observing any difference of complexion between the 
 ink that flows from our pen, and the paper on which 
 we write. Without this discriminating property of 
 light, no pleasing variety would overspread the great 
 carpet of nature ; the same unvaried hue, in every 
 direction, would meet our eye; the same dull uni- 
 formity would every where prevail. 
 
 Such are some of the beneficial consequences that 
 result from the sun, with respect to the earth. We 
 shall now consider him in another and a more ex- 
 alted light, as the centre of the Solar System. 
 
198 BOOK OF "NATURE LAID OPE>*;, 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 T11E SOLAR SYSTEM. 
 
 " Observe how regular the planets run, 
 
 In stated times their courses round the sun : 
 
 Different their bulk, their distance, their career. 
 
 And diff'rent much the compass of their year; 
 
 Yet all the same eternal laws obey, 
 
 While GOD'S unerring finger points the way." 
 
 FROM the consideration that, by the laws of na- 
 ture, all the lesser heavenly bodies art- made to re 
 volve round the greater, in the same manner that the 
 moon is made to move round the earth, it was to be 
 expected that the sun, the centre of a system in which 
 so many planetary and cometary bodies were made 
 to move within the sphere, or verge, of his attraction, 
 would be a body of very considerable magnitude; 
 and that he is said to be of such an extent, that his 
 solid bulk is computed to be sixty-four millions of 
 times bigger than the moon, a million of times big- 
 ger than the earth, or five hundred times greater than 
 all the other planets put together! 
 
 From what we ourselves experience of the bene- 
 fits of this luminary, we have reason to conclude, that 
 the sun is placed in the most convenient situation in 
 the heavens, and at the most suitable distance from 
 each of the respective bodies which move around him; 
 and that, however nigh or remote their courses may 
 be to the common centre, or however slow or rapid 
 in their movements, the inhabitants of all those bo- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 19$ 
 
 dies which are inhabited, will have forms and pow- 
 ers no less suited to their situations than ours, 
 
 " And constitutions fitted for that spot, 
 
 Where Providence, all-wise, has fix'd their lot." 
 
 The sun, although generally considered as fixed, 
 is known, by his spots, to make a revolution on his 
 axis in somewhat less than our month, and is like- 
 wise said to be agitated by a small motion round 
 what is called the centre of gravity of the Solar 
 System His motion, however, is so comparatively 
 small, that he may, indeed, be said to be fixed, with 
 respect to 
 
 The Planets. 
 
 Of the planets which have yet been discovered, 
 the first, or nighest the sun, is Mercury His dia- 
 meter is computed to be less than the half of that of 
 the earth, and his year is not quite so long as three 
 of our months: the light and heat of this planet are 
 supposed to be about seven times greater than the 
 earth receives ; yet he is said to move at the rate of 
 more than 109,000 miles in an hour! Being so nigh 
 the sun, Mercury is seldom seen; but when he is, it 
 is a little after sunset, and before sunrise, and he 
 appears to em : c a bright white light 
 
 The diameter of Yenus is somewhat less than that 
 of the earth, and her year is not quite eight of our 
 months In the heavens she moves next in order 
 ta Mercury, and, notwithstanding she is supposed to 
 
200 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 be surrounded by an atmosphere like the earth, her 
 light and heat are said to be twice as much as ours. 
 Like the sun, this brilliant planet has her spots ; like 
 the moon, she has her phases, and she moves at the 
 rate of upwards of 80,000 miles an hour ! Venus 
 appears in the heavens the brightest of all the pla- 
 nets, and, according as she is situated, is sometimes 
 called the Morning, and sometimes the Evening 
 Star. What is called the transit of Venus, is the 
 passing of this planet over the sun's face, which hap- 
 pens only twice in about one hundred and twenty 
 years. 
 
 Next to Venus comes our Earth, attended by her 
 constant companion, or satellite, the Moon. The 
 diameter of the Earth may be computed to be about 
 7.964 miles, her distance from the sun ninety five 
 millions of miles, and, moving at the rate of 68,000 
 miles an hour, she completes her annual revolution 
 in 365 days and somewhat less than six hours, all 
 the while whirling round on her axis, once in twenty- 
 four hours, with such velocity that the inhabitants of 
 the equator are carried round at the rate of 1,045 
 miles, and those in the latitude of London about 644 
 miles in an hour. 
 
 We have already explained several of the pheno- 
 mena resulting from the motion of the Earth; but 
 there is one astronomical fact we will here mention, 
 which may sound strange in the ears of some of ouy 
 readers, viz, that we are actually nigher the sun in 
 winter than in summer! Were it not for this, it is 
 presumed that the severity of our winters (being chief- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 201 
 
 ly occasioned by the obliquity of the sun's rays, as 
 they, at those seasons, fall on our atmosphere) would 
 be rendered still more intolerable and severe. 
 
 The magnitude of the Moon is said to be about 
 one-fiftieth of that of the Earth, about which she 
 moves at the distance of 236.847 miles, and com- 
 pletes her revolution in somewhat less than twenty- 
 eight days, travelling at the rate of 2,270 miles an 
 hour. 
 
 Mars, whose diameter is little more than one half 
 of our Earth, moves next her in the order of the pla- 
 nets: he completes his revolution in something less 
 than 687 of our days ; so that his year is nigh twice 
 the length of ours, while his light and heat are con- 
 sidered to be not quite the half of what we enjoy; 
 Mars revolves at the rate of 55,223 miles an hour, 
 and appears in the heavens of a dusky red colour. 
 
 What are called the !New Planets are to be found 
 between the orbits of Mars and of Jupiter; but as 
 so little is yet known respecting them, we shall just 
 mention their names, with the dates of their disco- 
 veries: Ceres was discovered by M. Piazzi in Si- 
 cily, on the 1st Jan 1801; Pallas was discovered 
 by Dr Olbers, of Bremen, on the 28th of March, 
 1802; Juno was discovered by Mr. Harding, of 
 Lilienthal, Bremen, 1st Sept. 1804; and Vesta was 
 discovered by Dr. Olbers, 29th March, 1807. These 
 being so very small, in comparison with the others, 
 Dr. Herschel does not deign to denominate them 
 planets, but Asteroids. 
 
202 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 But very different is the case with Jupiter, which 
 is the largest of all the planets, and adorned by his 
 belts, attended with his glorious retinue of four moons, 
 comes next in order in the heavens. The magni- 
 tude of this stupendous planet is, indeed, said to be 
 no less than 1400 times larger than the earth: his 
 year is .something less than twelve of ours, and he 
 moves at the rate of 29,894 miles in an hour. In 
 consequence of his distance from the sun, his light 
 and heat are computed to be only about one twenty- 
 seventh of what the earth receives, but the former 
 of these may be compensated by the number of his 
 inoons; by one or more of which, there is scarcely 
 any part of this planet but what is enlightened du- 
 ring the whole night, except his poles, and there is 
 no saying, but what has the appearance of Jupiter's 
 belt, may be something of an atmospheric nature, so 
 constituted as to imbibe, and considerably increase, 
 the heat of the sun's rays. Jupiter, in the heavens, 
 appears to the eye next in magnitude to Venus. 
 
 Beyond the orbit of Jupiter moves Saturn, attend- 
 ed by a retinue of no less than seven satellites or 
 moons, and having his body surrounded by an in- 
 terior and exterior ring. Although the diameter of 
 this planet is not so large as Jupiter, his magnitude 
 is said to be no less than 966 times that of the earth, 
 and, moving at the rate of 22,072 miles in an hour, 
 he completes the revolution of his wide circle in a 
 period not much less than thirty of our years. 
 
 The light and heat which he receives from the sun, 
 are computed to be about one hundredth part of what 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 203 
 
 the earth receives; but, to compensate for this, be- 
 sides the rings and moons already mentioned, the 
 disk of this planet has been observed to be crossed 
 by zones or belts, which may b analogous to, and 
 answer the purposes of, those of Jupiter. Saturn is 
 visible to the naked eye, and shines in the heavens 
 with a pale, feeble light. 
 
 The Georgian, or Georgium Sidus, is the remotest 
 of all the planets yet discovered, and was brought 
 to notice so recently as the 13th of March, 1781, by 
 that indefatigable astronomer, Dr Herschel. Six 
 satellites have already been discovered attending on 
 this distant planet Its magnitude is supposed to be 
 upwards of eighty times that of the earth, and its pe- 
 riodical revolution performed in something more than 
 eighty three of our years. Through a telescope of a 
 small magnifying power, the Georgian appears like 
 a star of the sixth or seventh magnitude, and is only 
 visible to the naked eye, in the absence of the moon, 
 in a clear night. 
 
 These planets, with their attendant satellites and 
 other appendages, are carried round the sun in ellip- 
 tical orbits, differing but little from circles; by which 
 means the temperature of their seasons must be wise- 
 ly proportioned, and pretty equally kept up To 
 prevent too frequent eclipses, they move not in the 
 same planes; and that they may not interfere with 
 each other, they revolve all in the same direction, 
 from the east away westerly. The greater part of 
 them are known, and the whole are supposed to turn 
 round on their axis in jthe same manner that our earth 
 
204 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 does, by which means they must also be favoured 
 with the alternate succession of day and night; and 
 as the revolution of the satellites of Jupiter is known 
 to a nicety, there cftn be no doubt but those planets, 
 which have such attendants, are equally benefitted 
 by them. Of the spots of Venus and of Mars, the 
 belts of Jupiter and rings of Saturn, we can say lit- 
 tle ; but let it .be remembered that we are surround- 
 ed by an atmosphere, the appearance of which may 
 not easily be accounted for by the inhabitants of those 
 distant bodies. That the planets are inhabited, we 
 have every reason to believe., from the provision that 
 is made for their comfort, and other analogy they 
 bear to our own inhabited globe. It is true, that our 
 views and discoveries respecting those distant orbs, 
 must be imperfect and limited in this present state; 
 but what we know not now, we may, perhaps, know 
 hereafter ; although it is not to be supposed that our 
 finite capacities, even in a more exalted state and 
 enlarged sphere of vision, shall ever be able fully to 
 comprehend the mighty works of the Creator of the 
 Universe, or utter forth all His praise. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 COMETS. 
 Hast thou ne'er seen the comet's flaming flight ?" 
 
 BESIDES the planets and their satellites, there are 
 other bodies called Comets, which revolve round the 
 sun in very eccentric ellipsis, and in all manner of 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 205 
 
 directions. These comets, in one part of their orbit, 
 called the perihelion, approach very near the sun, 
 and appear all in a blaze: this appearance, however, 
 they gradually lose, as they fly off, with inconceivable 
 rapidity, to the opposite part of their orbit, called, by 
 astronomers, their aphelion ; there they are totally di- 
 vested of their luminous tail, and, being at such an 
 immense distance from the sun, it is concluded they 
 must experience a degree of cold, of which we can 
 have no adequate conception. There are a variety 
 of opinions as to the number of comets belonging to 
 our system: Riccioli enumerated 154; others assert 
 that 450 had been seen previous to 1771 : the tables 
 of Berlin estimate them at 700, and some have even 
 supposed that there are millions. And, as these bo- 
 dies appear but seldom, and their stay is so short, it 
 is not surprising that so much ignorance should pre- 
 vail respecting them. It is, however, now sufficient- 
 ly ascertained, that these, like the planets, shine not 
 by their own, but by a reflected light; and, were it 
 not for the sun, these bodies, instead of alarming our 
 fears by their glaring magnificence, would move un- 
 seen and unheeded by us; for, however naturalists 
 may have differed respecting the composition of their 
 tails, it seems now to be pretty well understood that 
 they possess nothing fiery or combustible in them, 
 and may, with more propriety, be likened to the mild 
 radiance that proceeds across the street from the il- 
 luminated glass in an apothecary's window in a dark 
 night, than to any thing of a baneful or pestilential 
 nature. 
 
 T 
 
206 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 There is one thing to be remarked with regard to 
 the tails of comets, that they appear always in a di- 
 rection averted from, or contrary to, the sun ; and 
 this certainly, with the circumstance of the stars be- 
 ing visible through them, gives colouring to the sup- 
 position that they are nothing more than merely a 
 condensation of the solar rays, by the refracting 
 power of the comet and its atmosphere. 
 
 With regard to the purposes for which comets 
 were created, <* all is doubt, uncertainty, and con- 
 jecture." Some have supposed they are the means, 
 appointed by the Almighty, for putting a period to 
 the planetary world; others have imagined that co- 
 mets, in their several revolutions, gradually approach 
 the sun, till at last they fall into it, and become a sup- 
 ply of fuel to that luminary; and some of the learned 
 world, Dr. Mavor remarks, are of opinion, that they 
 are places of future punishment for tormenting the 
 damned with eternal vicissitudes of heat and cold; 
 " but when, on the other hand," as the Doctor goes 
 on, " we reflect on the infinite power and goodness 
 of the Deity, the latter inclining, the former enabling 
 him to make creatures suited to all states and circum- 
 stances; that matter exists only for the sake of intel- 
 ligent beings; and that, wherever we find it, we al- 
 ways perceive it pregnant with life, or subservient 
 to that purpose ; when we consider the numberless 
 species, the astonishing diversity of animals, in earth, 
 air, water, and even on other animals ; every blade of 
 grass, every tender leaf, every natural fluid, swarm- 
 ing with life, and every one of these enjoying such 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 207 
 
 gratifications as the nature and state of each require ; 
 when we further reflect that, some centuries ago, a 
 great part of the earth was judged uninhabitable, till 
 experience undeceived us; the torrid zone, on ac- 
 count of excessive heat; and both the frigid zones, 
 on account of excessive cold; it seems highly pro- 
 bable, that such numerous and large masses of du- 
 rable matter as the comets are, not however, dissi- 
 milar to our earth, destitute of beings capable of 
 contemplating with wonder, and acknowledging with 
 gratitude, the wisdom, symmetry, and beauty of the 
 creation, which is more plainly to be observed in 
 their extensive tour through the heavens than in our 
 confined circuit: yet, however difficult it may be for 
 us, circumstanced as we are, to discover their par- 
 ticular designation, this is an undoubted truth, that, 
 wherever the Deity exerts his power, there, also, he 
 manifests his wisdom and goodness. 5 ' 
 
 If, in addition to these judicious remarks of the 
 learned Doctor, we take it into consideration that the 
 vast rapidity of their movements, when in their peri- 
 helion, or part of their orbit Highest the sun, and the 
 comparatively slow progress they make as they re- 
 cede from him, till their motion is so languid as to 
 be scarcely perceptible at their aphelion, or farthest 
 distance from him, may not suffer these bodies to 
 undergo such an alternate extreme of heat and cold 
 as would otherwise have been the case, the proba- 
 bility is still the greater that comets are inhabited, 
 especially if we make a proper allowance for the 
 powerful eft'ect of such an atmosphere as they may 
 
208 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 be surrounded with, for attempering the sun's rays 
 as they fall more directly or obliquely upon it. And 
 we have an example of this in what we ourselves 
 experience in winter, when our situation is nearer 
 to the sun than it is in summer. 
 
 But whatever uses these eccentric bodies are of 
 otherwise, the astonishing courses that the comets per- 
 form in empty space, suggest to our minds an idea 
 of the vast distance between the sun and the nearest 
 fixed stars, of whose attractions all the comets must 
 keep clear, in order to return periodically and move 
 round the sun, and, consequently, of the infinite great- 
 ness of that Being, who has stretched out the hea- 
 vens like a curtain, and afforded such ample scope 
 for all those numerous orbs. <e I cannot forbear re- 
 fleeting/' says the author of the Guardian, " on the 
 insignificance of human art, when set in comparison 
 with the designs of Providence. In the pursuit of 
 this thought, I considered a comet, or, in the lan- 
 guage of the vulgar, a blazing star, as a sky rocket 
 discharged by a hand that is Almighty. What an 
 amazing thought is it to consider this stupendous bo- 
 dy traversing the immensity of the creation with such 
 a rapidity, and, at the same time, wheeling about in 
 that line which the Almighty had prescribed for it! 
 How spacious must the universe be, that gives such 
 bodies as these their. full play, without suffering the 
 least disorder or confusion by it! What a glorious 
 show are those beings entertained with, that can look 
 into this great theatre of nature, and see myriads of 
 such tremendous objects wandering through those 
 
BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 209 
 
 immeasurable depths of ether, and running their ap- 
 pointed courses! Our eyes may hereafter be strong 
 enough to command this magnificent prospect, and 
 our understandings able to find out the several uses 
 of these great parts of the universe; in the meantime, 
 they are very proper objects for our imagination to 
 contemplate, that we may form more extensive no- 
 tions of infinite wisdom and power, and learn to 
 think humbly of ourselves, and of all the little works 
 of human invention." 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 THE FIXED STARS. 
 
 - l This prospect vast, what is it? Weigh'd aright, 
 
 'Tis Nature's system of Divinity ; 
 
 And ev'ry student of the night inspires. 
 
 'Tis eider scripture writ by God's own hand." 
 
 WHAT a glorious prospect does night unfold when 
 she draws aside her sable curtains, and displays to 
 the contemplative mind the azure canopy of the hea- 
 vens bedecked with stars ! We need not wonder at 
 the expression of the poet : 
 
 " Devotion ! daughter of Astronomy ! 
 An undevout astronomer is mad I" 
 
 Tor who can take even the most transitory glance 
 
 of these glowing beauties, on a fine frosty evening; 
 
 T 2 
 
210 BOOK OF NATURE LAID Opi 
 
 without feeling something of that indescribable im- 
 pulse which every good man must feel when casting 
 his eyes to the nocturnal heavens? "Something, 
 like magic," says the pious Hervey, " has struck my 
 mind, on a transient and unthinking survey of the 
 etherial vault, tinged throughout with the purest 
 azure, and decorated with innumerable starry lamps. 
 I have felt, I know not what powerful and aggran- 
 dizing impulse, which seemed to snatch me from the 
 low entanglements of vanity, and prompted an ar- 
 dent desire for sublimer objects." What, then, must 
 be his sensations, who, by means of the " sight invi- 
 gorating tube," and the lights of philosophy, is led 
 to explore the upper regions of this celestial canopy, 
 which the Creator has so distinctly marked with the 
 wonders of his power! 
 
 The first thing that strikes a superficial observer, 
 js the apparent multitude of those heavenly hosts ; 
 but this will be found to be an illusion, and probably 
 is occasioned by their twinkling, and th? confused 
 manner in which, by their distance, they are made 
 to appear ; for, strange as it may sound in the ears 
 of the unlearned, the stars that are visible in our he- 
 misphere to the naked eye, even in the most favoura- 
 ble weather, do not amount, in any one time, to one 
 thousand. But let it not be imagined that, in men- 
 tioning this, we mean to derogate from the glory of 
 th. Almighty, as it is revealed in the heavens, or by 
 any means wish to insinuate that the number of the 
 stars is within the sphere of our finite powers and 
 capacities to calculate. No; as the more we descend 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 211 
 
 downwards in our researches among the animalcule 
 creation, the more evident traces of divinity we dis- 
 cover; so the more we extend our discoveries up- 
 wards into the regions of the universe, the more do 
 we observe of the glory of God. 
 
 The heavens, indeed, declare the glory of God 
 in a most emphatic manner; and the important in- 
 vention of the telescope, aided by modern improve- 
 ments, has brought systems and worlds to light, that 
 w^ere not dreamt of by the ancients. The heavens 
 of Tliales and Hipparchus were poor and thinly 
 -sown, indeed, when compared to hose of Tycho, 
 Bralie and Flamstead ; but what were even these to 
 what the wonderful instruments of Dr Herschel has 
 brought to notice ? Every new discovery of this in- 
 defatigable astronomer has tended to the glory of his 
 Maker, and every increase of magnifying power has 
 served to confirm the sublime truth, that " the stars 
 of heaven cannot be numbered " 
 
 The Milky Way, or that white, luminous tract, 
 which we observe in the heavens, is found to derive 
 its appearance from the number of stars of which it 
 is composed. No less than forty little stars are said 
 to be in the Pleiades alone; and in the constellation 
 of Orion, a number has been discovered, by far ex- 
 ceeding what can be observed by the naked eye in 
 the whole heavens. 
 
 From an attentive examination of the stars with a 
 good telescope, many which appear perfectly formed 
 or single, to the naked eye, have been found to con- 
 sist of two, three, or more stars; and Dr. Herschel, 
 
212 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 by the help of his glasses, is said to have discovered 
 near 700 such stars. Besides these, the Doctor has 
 observed other appearances in the heavens, which 
 he calls Nebulce or cloudy stars; being apparently 
 surrounded by a faint, luminous substance, of con- 
 siderable extent; of these he has given us a catalogue 
 of 2000, which he has described, and is of opinion 
 that the starry heavens are replete with nebuloe. 
 There are also several little whitish spots which 
 appear magnified, and more luminous, when seen 
 through telescopes, yet without any stars bein- dis- 
 tinguishable in tiiem. 
 
 When, to these grand, magnificent, and numerous 
 appearances in the heavens, we add those wander- 
 ing stars, or planetary bodies we have just been con- 
 sidering, which, according to the appearances they 
 put on, are denominated as stars of different magni- 
 tudes, together with that host of cometary orbs which 
 occasionally appear and disappear from our hemi- 
 sphere, who can forbear exclaiming: 
 
 This gorgeous apparatus ! this display ! 
 This ostentation of creative power! 
 This theatre ; what eye can take it in ? 
 By what divine enchantment was it rais'd ? 
 How boundless in magnificence and might!" 
 
 The fixed stars are so called to distinguish them 
 from the planets, and other wandering bodies, that 
 move among them ; for, in respect to these, they seem 
 to be fixed, and, with regard to each other, they do 
 not appear to ciiuiige place. Thus, while the pla- 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 213 
 
 netary bodies are not to be found in precisely the 
 same place for any two successive days together, the 
 stars, for instance, in the constellation of Ursa Ma- 
 jor, or the Great Bear, have not been observed to 
 alter their situation, with respect to each other, since 
 the creation of the world. But there are few rules 
 without exception; and here it must be observed., 
 that new stars have been discovered, which were un- 
 known to the ancients, and many of those which ap- 
 peared in old catalogues arc not now visible, while 
 numbers seem gradually to vanish, and others ap- 
 pear to have a periodical increase and decrease of 
 magnitude. 
 
 All the fixed stars, however, have an apparent 
 motion round the heavens once in twenty -four hours ; 
 for, although that of the star nighest the pole, and 
 consequently called the polar star, be so impercepti- 
 ble as to be scarcely distinguished, yet, even that star 
 appears to move in a very small circle; and this ima- 
 ginary motion is occasioned by the same cause as 
 produces the rising and setting of the sun; viz. the 
 revolution of the earth on its axis. 
 
 Though the number of the fixed stars, visible to 
 the naked eye, fall infinitely short of what a super- 
 ficial observer might be apt to imagine, yet, from 
 the great resemblance they bear to each other, and 
 the confused manner in which they appear at such 
 vast distances, it was found necessary, by the ancient 
 astronomers, to class and arrange them under vari- 
 ous figures and resemblances, to which they gave the 
 names of several persons and things ; and these i 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 ginary likenesses, many of which, individually, ob- 
 tained the names of persons celebrated in antiquity, 
 were in general called constellations. 
 
 The distances of the fixed stars from the earth is 
 supposed to be very great; so much so, that were a 
 cannon ball discharged from the nearest of them, it 
 is computed that it would take 7,000,000 years be- 
 fore it could reach the earth. So far, indeed, are 
 these luminous orbs removed from us, that their mag- 
 nitude cannot be increased by the best magnifiers ; 
 and, notwithstanding the great extent of the earth's 
 orbit or path round the sun, a fixed star does not ap- 
 pear to be nearer to us when the earth is in that part 
 of its orbit nearest to it, than it seemed to be w r hen 
 the earth was at the greatest distance, or 190,000,000 
 of miles farther removed from the star. 
 
 Dr. Bradley calculates the nearest fixed star from 
 the earth to be 40,000 times the diameter of the 
 earth's orbit, and the distance of Draconis from 
 the earth to be 400,000 times that of the sun, or 
 38,000,000,000,000 miles ! 
 
 As to the size of the fixed stars, some idea may 
 be formed from the vast distance at which they are 
 visible. Were the sun removed to as great a dis- 
 tance from us as we are from the nearest of these 
 stars, it is not probable that he would appear greater 
 to us, and the different apparent magnitudes of the 
 stars is supposed only to arise from their diiierent 
 distances. Indeed, from a comparison of the light 
 afforded by a fixed star to that of the sun. it has been 
 concluded that the fixed stars do not differ materi 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 ally, in magnitude, from that luminary; and, as it is 
 impossible that these bodies can shine from such a 
 distance with a reflected light, it has also been con- 
 cluded, that the fixed stars must be of the same na- 
 ture of the sun, and, like him, shine with their own 
 native lustre. 
 
 The. Uses of the fixed Stars. 
 
 f f Ask for what end these heavenly bodies shine; 
 Earth for whose use? Pride answers, 'tis for mine!'' 
 
 " But do these worlds display their beams, or guide 
 Their orbs, to serve thy use, to please thy pride? 
 Thyself but dust, thy stature but a span, 
 A moment thy duration foolish man !" 
 
 tc As well may the minutest emmet say, 
 
 That Caucasus was rais'd to pave his way; 
 
 The snail, that Lebanon's extended wood, 
 
 Was destin'd only for his walk and food : 
 
 The vilest cockle, gaping on the coast 
 
 That bounds the ample seas, as well may boast 
 
 The craggy rock projects above the sky, 
 
 That he in safety at its feet may lie; 
 
 And the whole ocean's confluent waters swell, 
 
 Only to quench his thirst, or move and blanch his shell." 
 
 As every part of the vast machine of the universe 
 seems wisely made? in some degree or other, sub- 
 servient to the whole, notwithstanding the vast dis- 
 tances of the stars from the earth, it would be ex- 
 tremely improper to deny that they may be, to a cer- 
 tain extent, useful to man. How often do they serve 
 
216 BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 to cheer the gloom of the midnight sky, when nei- 
 ther sun nor moon appears. In the early ages, those 
 who went down to the sea in ships had scarce any 
 other sure guide for their wandering vessel. They 
 still serve to direct the benighted traveller in his so- 
 litary journey; and, by means of the revolutions of 
 the stars, the ploughman, even had he no other di- 
 rectory, would know" exactly when to plough his 
 fields and sow his seeds. But if, as we have seen, 
 the stars bear such a striking analogy to the sun in 
 their magnitude, their nature, and some of their pro- 
 perties, have we not reason to conclude that they 
 have far more important offices to fulfil than merely 
 to be useful, in a few 'respects, to man ? that they, 
 also, like the sun, are each the centre of its respec- 
 tive system ? But where does this reasoning lead us? 
 for, if the stars are suns, and centres of other sys- 
 tems than that to which our earth belongs, does it 
 not naturally follow that there must be other worlds 
 revolving around them? and if other worlds, must 
 they not also be inhabited? This is a humiliating 
 lesson to the sons of pride, who have indulged the 
 thought that every thing in the universe was intend- 
 ed chiefly for their use ; but it is not to be supposed 
 that the Omnipotent Creator, who has not a leaf or 
 drop of water unpeopled, should have left such im- 
 mense bodies destitute of inhabitants. " It is surely 
 much more rational to suppose them the abodes of 
 intelligent beings ; of beings endowed with capaci-' 
 ties of knowing, loving, and adoring their Creator; 
 provided and blessed with every object conducive 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 217 
 
 to their happiness; many of them, perhaps, in a far 
 greater state of purity than the inhabitants of our 
 earth; in possession of superior degrees of bliss; and 
 all under the direction, indulgence and protection, of 
 infinite wisdom and goodness;" so that the poet is 
 correct in his reasoning: 
 
 What read we here? Th' existence of a God? 
 Yes; and of other beings, man above; 
 Natives of aether ! sons of higher climes !" 
 
 In this view of the subject, what a grand and mag- 
 nificent spectacle does the starry heavens present! 
 What lofty anotenlarged ideas must it give of the 
 Deity, to suppose every star which we behold a sun, 
 and each sun the centre of its respective system, of 
 planets and comets moving within the sphere of its 
 attractive energy, and irradiated by its beams! Must 
 not such a consideration inspire us with the grandest 
 and most sublime ideas of that Being, who has not 
 only formed, but launched forth, those numerous orbs 
 into the immensity of space, and who preserves them 
 in the greatest order and regularity, so that there is 
 not the least danger, nor the smallest possibility, of 
 their running into confusion? But, to stretch our ima- 
 gination still farther beyond the boundaries of the 
 visible creation, and to suppose other stars, and con- 
 sequently other suns and systems of inhabited worlds, 
 moving in the same beautiful order and regularity 
 beyond these, how awful the thought ! how over- 
 whelming the consideration! What an august, what 
 an amazing conception does this give of the works 
 
218 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 
 
 of the Creator! Thousands of thousands of suns 
 multiplied without end, and ranged all around us at 
 immense distances from each other, attended by ten 
 thousand times ten thousand worlds, all in rapid mo- 
 tion, yet calm, regular, and harmonious, invariably 
 keeping the paths prescribed them ; and these worlds, 
 doubtless, peopled with myriads of beings, formed 
 for endless progression in perfection and felicity ! 
 
 (( Not only this which we by custom call 
 Our world, the stars embellishing the skies 
 
 Are worlds alike, th' Almighty rules them all, 
 And all at first from matter's ma(fe did rise. 
 
 Thus we see, that the great Creator of the Uni- 
 verse, like gold well tried in the furnace of the re- 
 finer, rises more august, more grand, more sublime, 
 more inexpressible, beyond what our finite capaci- 
 ties can conceive, or our tongues express, the more 
 we extend our researches into nature ; that " the 
 works of the Lord are indeed great, in proportion 
 as they are sought out of all them that have pleasure 
 therein;" while man, an atom of an atom world, 
 dwindles into insignificance as he becomes sensible 
 of his own imperfections and weakness; and even 
 the most devout and diligent student of nature, while 
 he is forced to exclaim as he contemplates the won- 
 ders of the skies, " The heuvens declare the glory 
 of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy work," 
 is also obliged, from a sense of his own littleness, 
 when put in competition with those mighty orbs, to 
 
BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 219 
 
 adopt the following beautiful sentiment: " When I 
 consider the heavens the work of thy fingers; the 
 moon and the stars which thou hast ordained ; what 
 is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of 
 man that thou visitest him ?' 
 
NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 IN JANUARY. 
 
 " Stern Winter's icy breath, intensely keen, 
 Now chills the blood, and withers every green. 
 Bright shines the azure sky serenely fair, 
 Or driving snows obscure the turbid air." 
 
 CIVILIZED nations in general have agreed to date 
 the commencement of the year on the first of Janu- 
 ary, within a few days after the winter solstice, or 
 shortest day, which takes place on the 21st or 22d 
 of December. In- the month of January, the wea- 
 ther, in the British islands, is commonly either a 
 clear, dry frost, or fog and snow, occasionally inter- 
 mingled with rain. Nothing can be more wonder- 
 ful than the -effects of frost, which, in the spac,-. of a 
 single night, stops the running stream in its course,, 
 and converts the lake, that was curled by every 
 breeze, into a firm plain. This property of frost 
 produces a beneficial effect to the farmer; for the 
 hard clods of the ploughed fields are loosened and 
 broken to pieces by the swelling of the water within 
 them when it freezes, and thus the earth is prepared 
 for receiving the seed in spring ; while, 
 
 . " The frost-concocted gTebe, 
 
 Draws in abundant vegetable sonl, 
 And gathers vigour for the coming year.'* 
 Y 2 
 
222 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 Numerous natural phenomena are produced by 
 frost. Water from the clouds, freezing slov\ ly, crys- 
 tallizes in little icy darts or stars, forming, by their 
 Assemblage, the beautiful flakes of snow. Its white- 
 Bess is owing to the smallness of the particles into 
 which it is divided; for ice, when pounded, becomes 
 equally white. Snow is very useful by protecting 
 the plants it covers from the severity of the frost. 
 Hailstones are drops of rain, suddenly congealed in- 
 to a hard mass, so as to preserve their figure. They 
 often fall in warmer seasons of the year, as even 
 then the upper regions of the atmosphere are very 
 cold. When dew or mist freezes, as it frequently 
 does on every object on which it falls, it becomes 
 hoar frost, producing figures of incomparable beauty 
 and elegance. p 
 
 As the cold of this inclement season advances, the 
 birds collect in flocks, and, rendered bold by want, 
 approach the habitations of man. The wild quadru- 
 peds, also, are driven from their accustomed haunts ; 
 hares enter the gardens to browse on cultivated ve- 
 getables, and, leaving their tracks in the snow, are 
 frequently hunted down, or caught in snares. 
 
 The domestic cattle now require all the care and 
 protection of the farmer. Sheep are often lost in the 
 sudden storms by which the snow is drifted into hol- 
 lows, so as to bury them a considerable depth be- 
 neath it; yet they have been known to survive many 
 days in this situation. Cows receive their subsistence 
 from the provision of the farm-yard; and early lambs 
 
IN JANUARY. 223 
 
 and calves are kept within .lours, and tended with 
 nearly as much care as the farmer's own children. 
 
 " Now shepherds, to your helpless charge be kind; 
 BafTle the raging year, and fill their pens 
 With food at will; lodge them below the storm, 
 And watch them strict; for, from the bellowing east, 
 In this dire season, oft the whirlwind's wing 
 Sweeps up the burden of whole wirit'ry plains 
 At one wide waft, and o'er the helpless iiooks, 
 Hid in the hollow of two neighbouring hills, 
 The billowy tempest 'whelms." 
 
 The plants, at this season, are defended by nature 
 from the effects of cold. Those called herbaceous, 
 which die down to the root every autumn, are safely 
 concealed underground; and the shrubs and trees 
 that are exposed to the open air, have all their soft 
 and tender parts closely wrapped up in buds, which, 
 by their texture, resist the effects of frost? and are 
 hence aptly termed the winter quarters of the young 
 shoots How admirable is the economy of Nature ! 
 
 The earth, at this season, may now be compared 
 io a mother who has been robbed of those children 
 from whom she had the best hopes. She is deso- 
 late, and deprived of the charms which varied and 
 embellished her surface; howeveiyshe is not robbed 
 of all her children ; here and there some vegetables 
 are still to be seen, which seem to defy the severity 
 of the winter; here the wild hawthorn shows its pur- 
 ple berries, and the laurestina displays its blossoms 
 in clusters, crowned with leaves which never fade. 
 The yew-tree rises like a pyramid, and its leaves 
 
NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 preserve their verdure. The ivy, evergreen, still 
 creeps along the walls, and clings immoveable, while 
 the tempest roars around it. The laurel extends its 
 green branches, and has lost none of its summer or- 
 naments; and the humble box shows here and there, 
 in the midst of the snow, its evergreen branches. 
 
 FEBRUARY. 
 
 " Now shifting gales with milder influence blow, 
 
 Cloud o'er the shies, and melt the falling snow ; 
 
 The soften 'd soil with fertile moisture teems, 
 
 And, freed from icy honds, down rush the swelling streams." 
 
 THE earlier part of this month may still be rec- 
 koned winter; though the cold generally begins to 
 abate. The days are sensibly lengthened, and the 
 sun has power enough gradually to melt away the 
 snow and ice. Sometimes a sudden thaw comes on, 
 with a south wind and rain, which at once dissolves 
 the snow. Torrents of water then descend from the 
 hills; every little brook and rill is swelled to a large 
 stream ; and the ice is swept away W 7 ith great vio- 
 lence from the rivers. The frost, however, returns 
 for a time ; fresh snow falls, often in great quantities ; 
 and thus the weather alternately changes during most 
 part of this month. 
 
 Various signs of returning spring occur at different 
 times in February. The woodlark, one of the ear- 
 liest and sweetest of our songsters, often begins his 
 
IN FEBRUARY. 225 
 
 note at the very entrance of the month. Not long 
 after, rooks begin to pair, and geese to lay. The 
 thrush and chaffinch then add to the early music of 
 the groves. Moles go to work in throwing up their 
 hillocks as soon as the earth is softened. Under 
 some of the largest, a little below the surface of the 
 earth, they make their nests of moss, in which four 
 r five young are found at a time. These animals 
 live on worms, insects, an^l the roots of plants. They 
 do much mischief in gardens, by loosening and de- 
 vouring flower-roots; but in the fields they do no 
 other damage than rendering the surface of the 
 ground unequal by their hillocks, which obstruct the 
 scythe in mowing. They are said, also, to pierce 
 the sides of dams and canals, and let out the water; 
 but this can only be an accidental occurrence, attend- 
 ed with their own destruction. 
 
 Many plants emerge from under ground in Fe- 
 bruary, but few flowers yet adorn the fields or gar- 
 dens. Snow-drops, in general, are fully opened from 
 the beginning of the month, often peeping from the 
 midst of the snow. 
 
 " Already now the snow-drop dares appear, 
 The first pale blossom of the unripen'd year ; 
 As Flora's breath, by some transforming power, 
 Had chang'd an isicle to a flower ; 
 Its name and hue the scentless plant retains, 
 And winter lingers in its icy veins." 
 
 The aider-tree discloses its flower buds; the cat- 
 kins of the hazel become very conspicuous in the 
 
226 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 hedges ; and young leaves appear on the gooseberry 
 and currant bushes. The farmer, as soon as the 
 ground is sufficiently thawed, ploughs his fallows, 
 sows beans and pease, and rye and spring wheat. 
 
 *' Joyous th' impatient husbandman perceives 
 Relenting nature, and his lusty steers 
 Diives from their stalls, to where the well-us'd plough 
 Lies in the furrow, loosen'd from the frost ; 
 There, unrefusing, to the hajness'd yoke 
 They lend their shoulder, and begin their toil, 
 Cheer 'd by the simple song and soaring lark. 
 Meanwhile, incumbent o'er the shining share, 
 The master leans, removes the obstructing clay, 
 Winds the whole work, and sidelong lays the glebe. 
 While through the neighbouring field the sower stalks. 
 With measur'd step, and lib'ral throws the grain 
 Into the fruitful bosom of the ground." 
 
 The husbandman, also, at this season, sets his early 
 potatoes, drains his wet land, dresses and repairs his 
 hedges, lops his trees, and plants those kinds which 
 love a wet soil, as poplars and willows ; and, with 
 
 " Fancy fir'd, anticipates their growth." 
 
 Winter in the Polar Regions. 
 
 Nor are the symptoms of returning spring con- 
 fined to the inhabitants of our temperate climate ; they 
 also begin, towards the middle of this month, to be 
 sensibly felt by those of the icy regions of the north. 
 
IN FEBRUARY. 227 
 
 Their winter, however, is very different from ours. 
 The single night of the country about Spitz bergen 
 begins about the 30th of October. The sun then 
 sets, and never appears till about the 10th of Febru- 
 ary. A glimmering, indeed, continues some weeks 
 after the setting of the sun : then succeed clouds and 
 thick darkness, broken by the light of the moon, 
 which is as luminous as in England, and, during this 
 long night, shines with unfailing lustre. The cold 
 strengthens with the new year* and the sun is ush- 
 ered in with an unusual seventy* of frost. By the 
 middle of March the cheerful light grows strong ; 
 the arctic foxes leave their holes, and the sea-fowls 
 resort, in great multitudes, to their breeding place?. 
 The sun acts no more after the 14th of May. The 
 distinction of day and night is then lost. 
 
 But, to make up for the want of sunshine in such 
 a long and tedious winter, the wisdom and goodness 
 of God has amply provided, by furnishing, in ad- 
 dition to the light of the moon, the northern inhabi- 
 tants of our globe with such a copious display of the 
 aurora borealis, or what the common people here call 
 streamers 
 
 In Shetland, these northern lights, which the na- 
 tives call merry dancers, are the constant attendants 
 of the clear evenings, and prove great reliefs amid 
 the gloom of the long winter nights. They com- 
 monly appear at twilight, near the horizon, of a dun 
 colour, approaching to yellow, sometimes continuing 
 in that state for several hours, without any apparent 
 motion ; after which they break out into streams of 
 
228 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 stronger light, spreading into columns, and altering 
 slowly into ten thousand different shapes, varying 
 their colours, from all the tints of yellow, to the most 
 obscure russet. They often cover the whole hemi- 
 sphere, and then make the most brilliant appearance. 
 Their motions, at these times, are most amazingly 
 quick, and they astonish the spectator with the rapid 
 changes of their form. They break out in places 
 where none were seen before, skimming briskly 
 along the heavens. * On a sudden they are extin- 
 guished, and lea^e behind a uniformly dusky tract. 
 This again is illuminated in the same manner, and 
 as suddenly left a dull blank. In certain nights they 
 assume the appearance of vast columns, on one side 
 of the deepest yellow, on the other declining away 
 till it becomes undistinguished from the sky. They 
 have generally .a strong, tremulous motion, from end 
 to end, which continues till the whole vanishes. In 
 a word, we, who only see the extremities of these 
 northern phenomena, have but a faint idea of their 
 splendour and their motions. 
 
 In Siberia there is one species of the aurora bore- 
 alis, which regularly appears between the north-east 
 and east, like a luminous rainbow, with numbers of 
 columns of light radiating from it. Beneath the arch 
 is a darkness, through which the stars appear with 
 some brilliancy. There is another kind, which be- 
 gins with certain insulated rays from the north, and 
 others from the north-east, They augment little by 
 little till th(\\ fill the whole sky, and form a splen- 
 dour of colours rich as gold, rubies, and emeralds ; 
 
IN FEBRUARY. 229 
 
 but the attendant phenomena strike the beholders 
 with horror ; for they crackle, sparkle, hiss, make a 
 whistling sound, and a noise even equal to artificial 
 fireworks. 
 
 In Hudson's bay, moreover, the firmament, in 
 winter, is not without its beauties. The night is en- 
 livened by the aurora borealis, which spreads a thou- 
 sand different lights and colours over the whole 
 concave of the sky, not to be defaced even by the 
 splendour of the full moon; and the stars are of a 
 fiery redness. 
 
 Wonders of the North. 
 
 As we advance into these dreary regions, we meet 
 with those picturesque objects which attract and cap- 
 tivate the most incurious eye. In the icy seas, and 
 particularly at Spitzbergen, (which is the largest of 
 that group of frozen islands which go under that 
 name, or that of New Greenland) the forms assumed 
 by the ice are extremely pleasing. The surface of 
 that which is congealed from the sea water is flat, 
 even and hard, resembling white sugar, and is ca- 
 pable of being slid upon. The greater pieces, or 
 fields, are many leagues in length : the smaller are 
 the meadows of the seals, on which those animals, 
 at times, frolic by hundreds. The motion of the 
 smaller pieces is as rapid as the currents ; the greater, 
 which are sometimes two hundred leagues long, and 
 sixty or eighty broad, move slowly and majestically. 
 They often fix for a time, immoveable by the power 
 
230 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 of the ocean, and then produce, near the horizon, 
 that bright, white appearance, called, by the mari- 
 ners, the blink of the ice. These float in the sea like 
 so many rugged mountains, and are sometimes live 
 or six hundred yards thick ; but the far greater part 
 is concealed beneath the water. These are continu- 
 ally increased, in height, by the freezing of the spray 
 of the sea, or of the melted snow which falls on them. 
 Those which remain in this frozen climate receive 
 continual growth; others are gradually wafted, by 
 the northern winds, into southern latitudes, and melt, 
 by degrees, by the heat of the sun, till they waste 
 away, and disappear in the boundless element. 
 
 The collision of the great fields of ice, in high la- 
 titudes, is often attended with a noise that, for the 
 time, takes away the power of hearing any thing 
 else; and the meeting of the lesser fields is attended 
 with a grinding of unspeakable horror. The water 
 which dashes against the mountainous ice freezes 
 into an infinite variety of forms, and gives the voy- 
 ager ideal towns, streets, churches, steeples, and 
 every shape which imagination can frame. 
 
 The icebergs or glaciers of the north-west of Spitz- 
 bergen, are among the capital wonders of the country. 
 Frost sports with these icebergs, and gives them 
 majestic, as well as other most singular forms. 
 Masses have been seen assuming the shape of a go- 
 thic church, with arched windows and doors, and 
 all the rich tracery of that style, composed of what 
 an Arabian tale would scarcely dare to relate, of 
 crystal of the richest sapphiring blue. Tables with 
 
IN FEBRUARY. 231 
 
 one or more feet, and often immense flat-roofed tem- 
 ples, supported by round, transparent columns, of 
 cerulean hue, float by the astonished spectator. These 
 icebergs are the creation of ages, and receive annu- 
 ally additional heights, by the falling of snow and 
 rain, which often instantly freezes, and more than 
 ^repairs the loss by the influence of the melting sun. 
 
 Such are part of the wonderful phenomena of the 
 polar regions ; and the best improvement we can 
 make of such awful and terrific scenes, is to compare 
 them with what we daily behold at home, and learn 
 contentment with that spot, where Providence, all, 
 wise, has fixed our residence. 
 
 " One of the great arts to escape superfluous tin- 
 easiness," says a celebrated writer, " is to free our 
 minds from the habit of comparing our condition 
 with that of others, on whom the blessings of life are 
 more bountifully bestowed, or with imaginary states 
 of delight and security, perhaps unattainable by mor- 
 tals. Few are placed in a situation so gloomy and 
 distressful as not to see, every day, beings more for- 
 lorn and miserable, from whom they may learn to 
 rejoice at their own lot 
 
 " A native of England, pinched with the frosts 
 of December, may lessen his affection for his own 
 country by suffering his imagination to wander in the 
 vales of Asia, and sport among woods that are al- 
 ways green, and streams that murmur ; but if he 
 turns his thoughts toward the polar regions, and con- 
 siders the nations to whom a great portion of the year 
 is darkness, and who are condemned to pass week 
 
232 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 and months amid mountains of snow, he will soon 
 recover his tranquillity; and, while he stirs his fire, 
 or throws his cloak about him, reflect how much he 
 owes to Providence that he is not placed in Green- 
 land or Siberia." 
 
 MARCH. 
 
 " As yet the trembling year is unconfirm'd, 
 And winter oft at eve resumes the breeze, 
 Chills the pale morn, and bids his driving sleete 
 Deform the day." 
 
 THE great operations of nature, during this month, 
 seem to be to dry up the superabundant moistf "e of 
 February, thereby preventing the roots and seeds 
 from rotting in the earth, and gradually to bring for- 
 ward the process of evolution in the swelling buds; 
 while, at the same time, by the wholesome severity 
 of chilling blasts, they are kept from a premature dis- 
 closure, which would expose their tender contents to 
 injury from the yet unsettled season. 
 
 The winds of March, boisterous and vehement to 
 a proverb, are to be* regarded, however, as particu- 
 larly useful to vegetation ; for those years generally 
 prove most fruitful? in which the pleasing appearances 
 of spring are the most retarded. The importance of 
 a dry season for getting the seed early and favoura- 
 bly into the ground, is expressed in the old proverb: 
 
 " A bushel of March dust is worth a king's ransom." 
 
MARCH. 
 
 233 
 
 The mellow note of the thrush, singing perched 
 on the naked bough of some lofty tree, and the coo- 
 ing of the ring dove in the woods, are heard from 
 the beginning of March. The rooks also are now 
 in motion, building and repairing their nests; and it 
 is highly amusing to observe the tricks and artifices 
 of this thievish tribe; some to defend, and others to 
 plunder, the materials of their new habitations. These 
 birds are- accused of doing much injury to the farmer, 
 by plucking tip the young corn, and other springing 
 vegetables; but some are of opinion that this mis- 
 chief is fully repaired by their diligence in devouring 
 the grubs of various insects, which, if suffered to 
 come to maturity, would occasion much greater da- 
 mage. For this purpose, they are frequently seen 
 following the plough, or settling in flocks on newly 
 turned up lands. 
 
 In the month of March, those birds which took 
 refuge in our temperate climate from the rigour of 
 the northern winters, begin to leave us, and return 
 to the countries where they were bred. The red- 
 wing, fieldfare, and woodcock, are of this kind, and 
 retire to spend their summer in, Norway, Sweden, 
 and other parts of the north of Europe. Frogs, 
 which, during winter, lie in a topid state at the bot- 
 tom of ponds or ditches, now, enlivened by the 
 warmth of spring, rise in vast numbers to the surface 
 of the water, and make themselves heard to a stir- 
 prising distance. by their croakings. Those small, 
 but beautiful fish, called smelts, or sparlings, proceed 
 op the rivers in this month in order to spawn; bat 
 
234 
 
 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 they are of so tender a nature, that the least mixture of 
 snow-water in the river drives them back to the sea. 
 
 One of the most agreeable tokens of our approach 
 of spring is, thaj: about the middle of the month of 
 March bees venture out of their hives. These ad- 
 mirable and useful insects appear to be possessed of 
 uncommon foresight of the weather; so that their 
 appearance in the morning may be reckoned a sure 
 token of a fair day. As their food is the sweet juice 
 to be found in the nectaries of flowers, their coming 
 abroad is a certain sign that flowers are now to be 
 met with. The gardens are adorned with the yel- 
 low and purple crocus; and, towards the end of the 
 month, primroses peep out from beneath the hedges, 
 while the most fragrant of all flowers, the violet, dis- 
 covers itself by the perfume it imparts to the sur- 
 rounding air. The peach, the nectarine, the almond, 
 apricot and cherry trees, come into full bud during 
 this month; the sallow enlivens the hedges with its 
 catkins full of dust ; and the leaves of the honey- 
 suckle are nearly expanded. 
 
 In the latter part of the month of March the equi- 
 nox happens, when day and night are of an equal 
 length all over the globe ; or rather, when the sun is 
 an equal time above and below the horizon ; for the 
 morning and evening twilight makes apparent day 
 considerablv longer than night. This takes place 
 again in Septe- ber The former is called the ver- 
 nal, the latter the autumnal equinox. 
 
XN APRIL. 235 
 
 APRIL. 
 
 (< NovV stormy skies with milder influence shine, 
 And winter, banish'd, seeks the northern clime : 
 The earth, revived, a cheerful aspect wears 
 The gentle bird returns the fragrant flower appears." 
 
 APRIL generally begins with raw, unpleasant 
 weather, the influence of the equinoctial storms still, 
 in some degree, prevailing ; but its vicissitudes of 
 warm gleams of sun shine and gentle showers have 
 the most powerful effects in hastening that universal 
 springing of the vegetable tribes, whence the season 
 of spring derives its appellation. 
 
 Early in the month that welcome guest and har- 
 binger of summer, the swallow, returns. The chim- 
 ney or house swallow, known by its long, forked tail,, 
 and red breast, is first seen; and as this bird lives 
 on insects, its appearance is a certain proof that some 
 of that minute tribe of animals are come abroad from 
 their winter retreats. 
 
 In this month the groves resound with the various 
 melody of the birds. 
 
 " The blackbird, woodlark, and the thrush, 
 
 Unite with those of feebler voice ; 
 Whose chants resound from bush to bush, 
 
 To rouse all nature to rejoice. 
 
 Whilst nature seems to hear the sound, 
 
 Flowers, herbs, shrubs, trees, put forth their headsj 
 
 To ask, what have you, warblers, found 
 Tc make you singis winter fled ? 
 
NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 Sweet l yes ;' the nightingale replies ; 
 
 For I'm the harbinger of spring ; 
 And to confirm the same,' she cries, 
 
 Hark ! don't you hear yon cuckoo sing '; " 
 
 The nightingale is heard soon after the arrival of 
 the swallow. He sings by day as well as by night, 
 but in the day-time his voice is drowned among the 
 multitude of performers ; in the evening it is heard 
 alone: whence arises the common opinion that it 
 sings only by night. 
 
 Birds are now busied in pairing, and building their 
 nests, in which they exhibit the most admirable in- 
 stinctive peculiarities, 
 
 " Some to the holly hedge 
 Nestling repair; and to the thicket some; 
 Some to the rude protection of the thorn 
 Commit their feeble offspring : the cleft tree 
 Offers its kind concealment to a few ; 
 Their food its insects, and its moss their nests ; 
 Others apart, far in the grassy dale 
 Or roughening waste, their humble texture weave ; 
 But most in woodland solitudes delight, 
 In unfrequented glooms, or shaggy hanks, 
 Steep, and divided by a babbling brook, 
 Whose murmurs sooth them all the live-long day, 
 When by kind duty fix'd." 
 
 Another of the most striking events of this month 
 is the renewal of the note of the cuckoo, which is 
 generally heard about the middle of April. This 
 circumstance has commanded attention in all coun- 
 tries ; and several rustic sayings, and the names of 
 
IN APRIL. 257 
 
 several plants which flower at that time, are derived 
 from it. 
 
 The arrival of the cuckoo is regularly preceded 
 some days by that of the wryneck, a small bird, sin- 
 gular in its attitudes and plumage, and which has a 
 peculiar note or cry, easily distinguished by those who 
 have once heard it Other birds, which are seen 
 among us only in the warmer months, as the red- 
 start, whitethroat, and yellow wagtail, appear in 
 April. 
 
 A considerable number of plants flower this 
 month, and, with the blossoms of fruit-bearing trees 
 and shrubs, form a very agreeable spectacle, as well 
 on account of their beauty, as of the promise they 
 give of future benefits. 
 
 " Arabia cannot boast 
 A fuller gale of joy than, lib'ral, thence 
 Breathes thro' the sense, and takes the ravish'd sou!. 
 Full of fresh verdure and unnumber'd flowers, 
 The negligence of Nature, wide and wild, 
 Where, undisguis'd by mimic art, she spreads 
 Unbounded beauty to the roving eye." 
 
 Reflections on Spring. 
 
 " Fo 1 . th in the pleasing Spring 
 
 His beauty walks, His tenderness and love. 
 Wide flush the fields ; the softening air is halm , 
 Echo the mountains round ; the forest smiles ; 
 And every sense, and every heart is joy." 
 
 What a wonderful revolution, indeed, in the uni- 
 versal aspect of Nature, does the return of this lovely 
 
238 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 season exhibit ! After having been long bound up 
 with frost, or overspread with snow, the earth once 
 more displays all her variety of plants and flowers, 
 is arrayed with the most beautiful and enlivening 
 verdure, variegated with a numberless variety of 
 hues, and exhales odours so exquisitely pure and fra- 
 grant, that every sense of every creature is awake to 
 inexpressible delight. 
 
 None of the other seasons can vie with spring in 
 loveliness and amenity It has the same order among 
 them that the morning has among the divisions of 
 the day, and youth among the stages of life. It may 
 be called the favourite season of harmony ; for the 
 warbling of the feathered tribes has been observed 
 to have now a peculiar wildness and sweetness of 
 melody. Nor is its sweet influence confined to the 
 songsters of the groves: it pervades the whole ani- 
 mal creation. 
 
 Its Influence on Man. 
 
 In the opening of spring, and subsequent reno- 
 vation of Nature, how very sensibly is the human 
 soul exhilarated by that sense of pleasure which in- 
 spires the birds with melody, and the whole creation 
 with joy. In this season, when we contemplate the 
 smiling scenes around, those secret overflowings of 
 gladness are diffused over the soul, which compose 
 what Milton expressively calls " vernal delight," and 
 which is often denominated, with no less beauty 
 and propriety, " the smile of nature." What an ex- 
 
IN APRIL. 239 
 
 quisite sense of this does the virtuous philosopher ex- 
 perience! The creation, particularly in this lovely 
 season, is a perpetual feast to the mind of a good 
 man. From all that he beholds, he receives instruc- 
 tion and delight Providence has adorned the whole 
 creation with such a variety of beautiful and useful 
 objects, that it is impossible for a mind, not imbruted 
 by mere sensual enjoyments, to contemplate the 
 scenes around, without some of the sweetest internal 
 sensations of which man can be susceptible. But 
 when, to the delightful satisfaction which rural ob- 
 jects afford, we add an occasional attention to the 
 studies of natural philosophy, our relish for the beau- 
 ties of the creation is quickened, and rendered not 
 only pleasing to the imagination, but to the under- 
 standing; and it is an unquestionable truth, that the 
 man who extends his inquiries into the works of na- 
 ture, multiplies, in some degree, the inlets to happi- 
 ness. The philosopher is not content with the loll- 
 ing murmur of brooks, or the enlivening melody of 
 birds, with the shade of embowing woods, the ver- 
 dure of fields, or the embroidery of meadows. He 
 will reflect, on the contrary, on tHe infinite variety 
 of benevolent purposes to which they are all sub- 
 servient, and the wonders of that Divine Wisdom, 
 of which they all exhibit such impressions. While 
 the pleasures of the eye, in course, are heightened, 
 his soul is exalted to that rational admiration which 
 insensibly leads to love and adoration; and, while 
 he " walks superior amid the glad creation, musing 
 
240 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 praise, and looking gratitude," with a kind of sacred 
 ecstacy he exclaims : 
 
 " These are thy gloiious works, Parent of Good, 
 Almighty ! Thine this universal frame, 
 Thus wondrous fair : Thyself how wondrous then, 
 Unspeakable !" 
 
 While unusual sweetness thus inspires the whole 
 creation with a purer joy, the moral philosopher is 
 led to enquire into the natural effects of this delight- 
 ful influence, not only on the frame, but on the heart 
 of man. The affections, he is fond to imagine, are all 
 attuned to benevolence, and each discordant passion 
 soothed to serenity and peace. 
 
 With what a generous satisfaction, too, will huma- 
 nity reflect on the restorative effects of spring ! The 
 convalescents, so lately wretched, so long oppressed 
 by the heavy load of pain, and langour, and disease, 
 now feel, as it were, a new creation; and sweet are 
 the cheering sensations, sweet the unwonted joys, 
 that now recall them to the exertions of strength, and 
 the happiness of health. 
 
 MAY. 
 
 Born in yon blaze of orient sky, 
 Sweet May, thy radiant form unfold; 
 
 Unclose thy blue, voluptuous eye, 
 And wave thy shadowy locks of gold. 
 
fcf MAY. 
 
 Warm with new life thy glitt'ring throngs, 
 On quiv'ring fin and rustling wing, 
 
 Delighted join their votive songs, 
 
 And hail thee goddess of the Spring." 
 
 MAY has ever been the favourite month of poetic 
 description, as uniting all the soft beauties of spring 
 with the radiance of summer; but this must be in 
 more southern climes than ours; for with us great 
 part of the month is yet too cold for a perfect enjoy- 
 ment of the charms of nature, and abounds with 
 chilling blights and nipping winds: 
 
 " The blast that riots on the spring's increase." 
 
 The month of May, however, is profuse of beauty ; 
 the earth is now covered with the freshest green of 
 the grass and young corn, and adorned with nume- 
 rous flowers opening on every side The trees put 
 on their leafy verdure ; the hedges are rich in fra- 
 grance from the snowy bloom of the hawthorn ; and 
 the orchards display their highest beauty in the deli- 
 cate blush of the apple blossoms. 
 
 The leafing of trees is commonly completed in 
 this month. It begins with the aquatic kinds, such 
 as the willow, poplar, and alder, and ends with the 
 oak, beech, and ash. These are sometimes very 
 thin of foilage even at the close of May. 
 
 Birds hatch and rear their young principally du- 
 ring this month. The patience and assiduity of the 
 female during the task of sitting upon her eggs, can- 
 not be too much admired ; nor should the conjugal 
 
 Y 
 
242 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 affection of the male be forgotten, who sings to his 
 mate, and often relieves her fatigues by supplying 
 her place : and nothing can exceed the paternal ten- 
 derness of both, when the young are brought to 
 light. 
 
 Towards the end of May the bee hives send forth 
 their earlier swarms. Nature directs them to march 
 in a body in quest of a new settlement, which, if left 
 to their choice, would generally be some hollow 
 trunk of a tree ; but man, who converts the labours 
 and instincts of so many animals to his own use, pro- 
 vides them with a more secure dwelling, and repays 
 himself with their honey 
 
 The glow-worm shines at this period ; the females 
 of which are without wings, and luminous; the 
 males vice versa They extinguish their lamps, or 
 cease to glow, between eleven and twelve at night. 
 
 The cattle are now turned out to the pastures ; 
 milk becomes more copious ; and the process of 
 cheese making goes on in Cheshire, Wiltshire, Glou- 
 cester &c. 
 
 This is not a busy month to the farmer. He now 
 weeds his crop, and looks forward to the reward of 
 his industry and toil, in the approaching season. 
 
 " 3e gracious, heaven ! for now laborious man 
 Has done his part." 
 
 Chick m the Egg. 
 
 The hen has scarce sat on the egg twelve hours, 
 when we begin already to discover in it some linea- 
 
IN MAY. 243 
 
 ments of the head and body of the chicken that is to 
 be born The heart appears to beat at the end of 
 the day ; at the end of forty eight hours two vesicles 
 of blood can be distinguished, the pulsation of which 
 is very visible At the fiftieth hour an auricle of the 
 heart appears, and resembles a lace, or noose folded 
 down upon itself At the end of seventy hours we 
 distinguish wings, and on the head two bubbles for 
 the brain ; one for the bill, and two others for the 
 fore part and hind part of the head : the liver ap- 
 pears towards the fifth day At the end of 131 
 hours the first voluntary motion is observed. At 
 the end of 138 hours the lungs and stomach become 
 visible : and at the end of 142, the intestines, the 
 loins, and the upper jaw The seventh day, the 
 brain which was slimy, begins to have some con- 
 sistence. At the 190th hour of incubation, the bill 
 opens, and the flesh appears in the breast ; at the 
 194th, the sternum is seen, that is to say, the breast- 
 bone. At the 210th, the ribs come out of the back, 
 the bill is very visible, as well as the gall bladder. 
 The bill becomes green at the end of 236 hours ; 
 and if the chick is taken out of its coverings, it evi- 
 dently moves itself The feathers begin to shoot 
 out towards the 240th hour, and the skull becomes 
 grisly. At the 264th, the eyes appear. At the 
 288th the ribs are perfect At the 331st, the spleen 
 draws near to the stomach, and the lungs to the 
 chest. At the end of 355 hours, the bill frequently 
 opens and shuts ; and at the end of 451 hours, or 
 the 18th day, the first cry of the chick is already 
 
244 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 heard : it afterwards gets more strength, and grows 
 continually, till at last it sets itself at liberty, by 
 opening the prison in which it was shut up. Ador- 
 able wisdom of God ! it is by so many diiferent de- 
 grees that these creatures are brought into life. All 
 these progressions are made by rule ; and there is 
 not one of them without sufficient reason. No part 
 of its body could appear sooner or later, without the 
 whole embryo suffering, and each of its limbs ap- 
 pear at the most proper moment. This ordination, 
 so wise, and so invariable in the production of this 
 animal, is manifestly the work of a Supreme Being, r 
 
 JUNE. 
 
 < Now genial suns and gentle breezes reign, 
 And summer's fairest splendours deck the plum ; 
 Exulting Flora views her new-born rose, 
 And all the ground with short-lived beauty glows.'* 
 
 JUNE, in this climate, is what the Grecian poets 
 represented May. It is the most lively month in 
 the year, Summer has commenced, and warm 
 weather is established ; yet the heats rarely rise to 
 excess, or interrupt the enjoyment of those plea- 
 sures which the scenes of Nature at this period af- 
 ford. The trees are in their fullest dress ; and 
 a profusion of flowers is every where scattered 
 around. 
 
IN JUNE. 245 
 
 One of the earliest rural employments of this 
 month is the shearing of sheep ; a business of much 
 importance in various parts of the kingdom, where 
 wool is one of the most valuable products, and 
 yields much rustic mirth ; as, 
 
 " Rang'd in Iu c -ty rows, 
 
 The shepherds sit, and whet the sounding shears. 
 The housewife waits to roll her fleecy stores, 
 With all her gay drest maids attending round. 
 One chief in gracious dignity enthron'd, 
 Shines o'er the rest, the pastoral queen, and rays 
 Her smiles, sweet beaming, on her shepherd king ; 
 While the glad circle round them yield their souls 
 To festive mirth, and wit that knows no gall." 
 
 England has for many ages been celebrated for 
 its breeds of sheep ; which yield wool of various 
 qualities, suited to different branches of the woollen 
 manufacture. 
 
 In the hedges the place of the hawthorn is suppli- 
 ed by the flowers of the hip, or dog rose, the differ- 
 ent hues of which, from a deep crimson to a light 
 blush, and even pure white, form a very elegant 
 variety of colour ; and of some the smell is peculiar- 
 ly fragrant Some time after the woodbine and 
 honeysuckle begin to blow ; and these, united with 
 the rose, give our hedges their highest beauty and 
 fragrance. 
 
 The several kinds of corn come into ear and flow- 
 er this month ; as do likewise the numerous species 
 of grass. In Europe the principal kinds of corn are 
 Y 2 
 
246 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 wheat, rye, barley, and oats ; in Asia, rice ; in Af- 
 rica, maize, or Indian corn. 
 
 The latter part of June is the beginning of hay- 
 harvest for the southern and middle parts of the king- 
 dom. This is one of the most busy and agreeable 
 of rural occupations. 
 
 " Now swarms the village o'er the jovial mead." 
 
 Both sexes and all ages are engaged in it. 
 
 The fragrance of the new-mown hay, the gayety 
 of all surrounding objects, and the genial warmth of 
 the weather, conspire to render this a season of plea- 
 sure and delight 
 
 " Ee'n stooping age is here ; and infant hands 
 Trail the long rake, or, with the fragrant load 
 O'ercharg'd, amid the kind oppression roll ; 
 
 . While, heard from dale to dale, 
 
 Waking the breeze, resounds the blended voice 
 of happy labour, love, and social glee." 
 
 In this month appear the grasshopper, green bee* 
 tie, angler's May-fly, the formidable gad fly, &c 
 The angler's May fly is most short lived ; emerging 
 from the water in its aurelia state at six in the even- 
 ing, and dying at eleven : they appear about the 
 fourth of this month and continue a fortnight. , 
 
 Now gooseberries, currants, and strawberries, 
 begin to ripen Birds cease their notes, except the 
 stone curlew, yellow hammer, goldfinch, and gol- 
 den crested wren, now and then chirping. The 
 
IN JUNE. 24.7 
 
 cuckoo, also ceases. It is amusing- now, an hour be- 
 fore sun set, to see the barn owl in search of field 
 mice, and bringing one to its nest about every five 
 minutes ; and the fern owl, feeding on the fern chaf- 
 fer, another interesting nocturnal bird. 
 
 On the 21st of this month is the summer solstice, 
 er longest day ; when the splendid sun 
 
 " Shoots full perfection thro' the swelling year." 
 
 The D&w. 
 
 The wise Ruler of the world, who watches con- 
 tinually over his children, and provides for all their 
 wants, makes use of more than one means to render 
 the earth fruitful. But the most common means, the 
 suresi, and most universal, and that which men the 
 least attend to, and are least sensible of its value, is 
 dew. This inestimable gift of Heaven, which even 
 in years of the greatest drought supports and pre- 
 serves the plants from perishing, is those sparkling 
 drops seen in such profusion morning and evening 
 on the leaves of trees and plants. The dew does 
 not fall from above, as was formerly imagined ; it 
 does not descend from the highest parts of our at- 
 mosphere ; and still less is it the sweat of the stars, 
 as superstition had supposed. This pretended ce- 
 lestial origin has probably given rise to the folly of 
 some alchymUts who hoped to convert dew into 
 gold It . now generally allowed, that the dew is 
 nothing but the sweat of the plants, and the moisture 
 
248 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 they draw from the earth. In order to be convin- 
 ced of this, one need only cover a plant with a glass 
 bell, and it will appear that the leaves collect in the 
 night a greater quantity of dew drops than the leaves 
 of the other plants which are exposed to the air. 
 This certainly would not be the case if the dew fell 
 from above, and if it did not rise from the ground. 
 Nothing is more easy than to comprehend how it is 
 formed ; for nobody is ignorant, that the rays of the 
 sun, and the heat which is cast on the earth, continu- 
 ally loosens a multitude of thin particles from off 
 every thing ; some of which rise into the atmosphere, 
 and the rest collect in the form of drops of water. 
 This account of the dew explains to us, how it hap- 
 pens that it is sometimes hurtful, and sometimes not 
 so. Its nature evidently depends on the quality of 
 the vapours of which it is composed. The wind 
 carries away the light exhalations as soon as they 
 are formed, and prevents them from falling in drops. 
 This is the reason that there is most dew when the 
 air is very calm. By this wise plan of the Creator, 
 the plants can vegetate and grow in countries even 
 where there is no rain ; for the soil of those parts 
 being sandy, porous, and very moist underneath, the 
 heat draws out a great quantity of dew, which sup- 
 plies the place of rain. 
 
IN JULY. 249 
 
 JULY. 
 
 ' Deep to the root 
 
 Of vegetation parch'd, the cleaving fields 
 And slippery lawn an arid hue disclose ; 
 Echo no more returns the cheerful sound 
 Of sharp'ning scythe ; the mower, sinking, heaps 
 O'er him the humid hay, with flowers perfum'd." 
 
 JULY is the hottest month in the year. The di- 
 rect influence of the sun, indeed, is diminishing ; but 
 the earth and air have been so thoroughly heated, 
 that ihe warmth which they retain, more than com- 
 pensates for the gradual diminution of the solar rays. 
 
 The effects of this weather upon the face of nature 
 soon become manifest. All the flowers of the for- 
 mer month lose their beauty, and the whole plant 
 hastens to decay Many plants, however, do not 
 begin to flower till July. 
 
 While the animal creation seem oppressed with 
 languor, during this hot season, and either seek the 
 recesses of woods, or resort to pools and streams, to 
 cool their bodies and quench their thirst, the insect 
 tribe are peculiarly active and vigorous. These 
 minute creatures are for the most part annual ; being 
 hatched in the spring, and dying at the approach of 
 winter. ^ * 
 
 The excessive heats of this period of the year, 
 cause such an evaporation from the surface of the 
 earth and waters, that, after some continuance of dry 
 weather, large heavy clouds are formed, which at 
 length let fall their collected liquor, in extremely co- 
 
250 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 pious showers, which frequently beat down the futt- 
 grown corn, and sometimes deluge the country with 
 sudden floods. Thunder and lightning generally 
 accompany these summer storms. 
 
 The effects of the great heat on the human body 
 are agreeably allayed, by the various wholesome 
 fruits which Providence offers at this season for the 
 use of man. Those which are now ripe are, of 
 all, the most cooling and refreshing; as currants, 
 gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries, and cherries. 
 These are no less salutary and useful than the richest 
 products of the warmer climates. 
 
 The luxury of cooling shades is now peculiarly 
 grateful, and multitudes flock from all quarters to 
 enjoy the invigorating effects of sea bathing ; while 
 others of the debilitated and valetudinarian tribe as- 
 semble at the medicinal well, in order to allay the 
 feverish heat in their blood, or improve their consti- 
 tutions, by drinking the cooling and reanimating 
 draught at the spring 
 
 Potatoes and hops flower in this month. The jes- 
 samines and white lily now ornament the garden. 
 Mushrooms appear. Frogs migrate from ponds. 
 Hoary beetles appear. Bees kill and expel the 
 drones Ants, for frugality, foresight, and industry 
 proverbial, quit their nests to found ryjw colonies. 
 Ants are divided into male, female, and neuter. 
 The neuters are labourers, without wings ; males 
 and females have w gs. An ant hill is a large 
 vaulted cha . ber a> d has three or four passages to 
 it. In the centre of it is the old one, and the young 
 
IN JULY. 251 
 
 worms and ggs ranged around. When opened in 
 the winter, the labourers are in torpor The} lay up 
 no provision. They prey upon beetles, caterpillars, 
 dead mice, rats, frogs, and juices from leaves, and 
 when they meet with more than they can carry, they 
 return to fetch their comrades to help them. 
 
 In this month the poultry moult. Young par- 
 tridges are found among the corn, and first broods 
 of swallows and martins congregate. 
 
 The farmer now gets home the products of the 
 earth, particularly hay. 
 
 Hemp and flax are pulled this month. These 
 plants are cultivated in various parts of Europe more 
 than in England. The stalks of both are full of 
 rough fibres or strings, which separated and pre- 
 pared in a particular manner, become fit for spin- 
 ning into thread. Of flax linen is made, from the 
 finest cambrick to the coarsest canvas Hemp is 
 chiefly used for coarse cloth ; it is also twisted into 
 ropes and cables. 
 
 In the southern parts of our island the corn har- 
 vest begins ; and, 
 
 " Soon as the morning trembles o'er the sky, 
 And, unperceiv'd, unfolds the spreading day, 
 Before the ripen'd field the reapers stand 
 I a, fair array." 
 
NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 Thunder Storms. 
 
 At a season wherein nature presents to our eyes 
 none but pleasing, cheerful scenes, there are some 
 people, notwithstanding, who still complain and 
 murmur. Summer they say, would indeed be de- 
 lightful, if storms did not come to disturb and banish 
 all joy from their souls The fear of thunder and 
 storms is chiefly owing to the opinion of their being 
 effects of the wrath of heaven, and ministers of its 
 vengeance. For if, on the contrary, we considered 
 how much these storms contribute to purify the air 
 from numberless noxious vapours, and to fertilize 
 the earth ; if w r e would take proper precautions 
 against the terrible effects of lightning, the storms 
 would cease to be so dreadful to us, and would ra- 
 ther inspire gratitude than terror. Alas ! we should 
 soon change our language, if God, provoked at our 
 ingratitude and complaints, was to deprive us of the 
 blessings we derive from thunder storms. It is 
 true, that we are not capable of pointing out all the 
 advantages which accrue from them ; but the little 
 we know is sufficient to fill our hearts with gratitude 
 towards our great Benefactor. Let us represent to 
 ourselves an atmosphere loaded with noxious and 
 pestilential vapours which thicken more and more 
 by the continual exhalations of earthly bodies, so 
 many of which are corrupt and poisonous We 
 must breathe this air ; the preserv ation or destruc- 
 tion of our existence depends upon it. The salubrity 
 or unwholesomeness of the air gives us life or death. 
 
IN JULY- 
 
 We feel how we are oppressed in the stifling heat of 
 summer; with what difficulty we breathe; what 
 uneasiness we experience ! Is it not a great bles- 
 sing, that we ought to be grateful for to God, when 
 a salutary storm comes to purify the air from all 
 noxious vapours ; and by lighting up the saline and 
 sulphureous .particles, prevents their dangerous ef- 
 fects, cools the air, which recovers its elasticity, and 
 restores to us our usual facility of breathing? Were 
 it not for storms," the dangerous exhalations would 
 more and more increase, and be more and more cor- 
 rupt. Men and animals would perish by millions. 
 Which is then the most reasonable, to fear or to wish 
 for storms ? To murmur at the slight mischief they 
 may sometimes occasion, or to bless God for the 
 precious advantages they procure us ? Let us add, 
 that not only men and animals are benefited by 
 purifying the air, but that it is also very useful to 
 the vegetables. Experience teaches us, that the 
 rain which falls when it thunders is the most fruitful 
 to the earth. 
 
 Observe also, that, during the greatest claps of 
 thunder, most people prolong their fear without rea- 
 son. Whoever has time to fear the natural conse- 
 quences of lightning is already, out of danger It is 
 only the lightning which is fatal. When we have 
 seen, and not been touched by it, and when the thun- 
 der does not come with it immediately, it is doubly 
 foolish to .turn pale or tremble at hearing a clap,, 
 or to stop the ears for fear of sound, which is no lon- 
 ger dangerous. The thunder tells us we have 6s 
 
254< NATURAL 
 
 eaped the danger, and, at the same time, informs ns 
 at what distance it is; for the greater space of time 
 there is between the clap of thunder and the flash of 
 lightning, the more distant is the storm. 
 
 Such reflections as these may moderate the ex- 
 cessive fear we have of thunder. Instead of -filling 
 our minds with frightful and terrible ide.as, let us ac- 
 custom ourselves to consider, a storm as a sublime 
 and great object. Instead of speaking of the mis- 
 fortunes occasioned by thunder, letT us reflect rather 
 on the necessity and great use of storms. 
 
 AUGUST. 
 
 * { Fair plenty now begins her gotden reign, 
 
 The yellow fields thick wave with ripen'd grain, 
 
 Joyous the swains begin their sultry toils, 
 
 And bear in triumph home the harvest's wealthy spoils/' 
 
 WHAT remained to be perfected by the powerful 
 influence of the sun, is daily advancing to maturity. 
 The farmer now sees the principal object of his cul- 
 ture, and the chief source of his riches, waiting only 
 for the hand of the gatherer. 
 
 Rye and oats are usually first ripe; but this varies, 
 and depends on the time of sowing. Sometimes all 
 kinds of grain are fit for cutting at the same time. 
 
 Every fair day is now of great importance ; for, 
 when the corn is once ripe, it is liable to continual 
 Damage while standing, either from the shedding of 
 
IN AUGUST'. 255 
 
 the seeds, from the depredations of birds, or from 
 storms. 
 
 This pleasing harvest scene is beheld in its per- 
 fection only in the open field countries,, where the 
 sight can take in at once an uninterrupted extent of 
 land waving with corn, and a multitude of people 
 engaged in the various parts of the labour. It is a 
 prospect equally delightful to the eye and the heart, 
 and which ought to inspire every sentiment of be- 
 nevolence to our fellow creatures, and gratitude to 
 our Creator. 
 
 The rural festival of harvest home is an extremely 
 natural one, and has been observed in almost all ages 
 and all countries. The jovial harvest supper cheers 
 the heart of the labourer, and prepares him to begin, 
 without murmuring, the labours of another year; 
 and now, 
 
 " Inwardly smiling, the proud farmer views 
 The rising pyramids that grace his yard, 
 And counts his large increase." 
 
 This month is the season of another kind of har- 
 vest in some parts of England, which is the hop- 
 picking. The hop is a climbing plant, sometimes 
 growing wild in hedges, and is cultivated on account 
 of its use in making malt liquors. It is planted in 
 regular rows, and poles are set for it to run upon. 
 When the poles are covered to the top, nothing can 
 make a more elegant appearance than one of these 
 hop gardens. At the time of gathering, the poles 
 are taken up with the plants clinging to them and. 
 
256 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 the scaly flowering heads, which are the part usc<J> 
 are carefully picked off. Kent, Sussex, and Worces- 
 tershire, are the counties most famous for the growth 
 ftf hops. 
 
 Wall fruits now come in season; and, 
 
 " The sunny wall 
 
 Presents the downy peach, the shining plum, 
 The ruddy, fragrant nectarine, and dark 
 Beneath his ample leaf the luscious fig." 
 
 Vipers bring forth their young, of the size of earth- 
 worms. Many insects appear; the flies visit the 
 windows, and the bulls begin their shrill bellowing. 
 
 Swallows appear in the southern regions ; rooks 
 roost in their nests by night; lapwings and linnets 
 begin to congregate; and the red breast, one of the 
 finest, though commonest of songsters, concludes the 
 month by the renewal of his music. 
 
 The Construction and Vegetation of Corn. 
 
 The wisdom which appears in the construction 
 and vegetation of corn is very striking. The leaves, 
 for example, which surround it before it has attained 
 its full growth, even those leaves have their use; and 
 it seems as if the wisdom of the Creator had placed 
 them round the blade for the same reason that an 
 architect raises a scaffolding about a building, which, 
 when the building is finished, he takes away. For 
 as soon as the blade has attained its full length and 
 consistency, the leaves which protected it dry up and 
 
IN SEPTEMBER. 257 
 
 fall off. Whole months pass away before the ear of 
 corn ventures to appear and expose itself to the air; 
 but as soon as every thing is prepared for the for- 
 mation of the blossoms and fruit, they all appear in 
 a few days. With what skill, also, are the stalks 
 and the ears of corn constructed ! If the former were 
 higher, the nutritive juice could not so well penetrate 
 into them; if, on the contrary, the corn had been 
 placed lower, the moisture would have made it spring 
 up before it was reaped ; birds and other animals 
 would get at and destroy it If the stem was weaker 
 and smaller, the wind would break it; and if it was 
 stronger and thicker, little animals might lodge in 
 H, birds would perch upon it, and pick out the grain* 
 
 SEPTEMBER. 
 
 Now soften'd suns a mellow lustre shed, 
 
 The laden orchards glow with tempting red ; 
 
 On hazel houghs the clusters hang embrown'd, 
 
 And with the sportman's war the new-shorn fields resound.'"' 
 
 THIS is, in general, a very agreeable month, the 
 distinguishing softness and serenity of autumn, with 
 its deep blue skies, prevailing through great part of it. 
 The days are now very sensibly shortened ; and the 
 mornings and evenings are chill and damp, though 
 the warmth is still considerable in the middle of the 
 day. This variation of temperature is one cause 
 why autumn is an unhealthy time, especially in the 
 warmer climates, and in moist situations. 
 z 2 
 
258 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 The labours of the husbandman have but a very 
 short intermission; for, no sooner is the harvest ga- 
 thered in, than the fields are again ploughed up and 
 prepared for the winter corn, rye, and wheat, which 
 are sown during this month and the next 
 
 Not only the swallow-tribe, but many other small 
 birds which feed on insects, disappear on the ap- 
 proach of cold weather, when the insects themselves 
 are no longer to be met with. 
 
 On the other hand, some birds arrive at this sea- 
 son from still more northerly countries, to spend the 
 winter with us. The fieldfare and red wing, whose 
 departure was mentioned in March, return about 
 the end of September. They feed chiefly on the 
 berries with which our woods and hedges are plen- 
 tifully stored all the winter. 
 
 The mosl useful fruit this country affords, the ap- 
 ple, successively ripens, according to its different 
 kinds, from July to September or October ; but the 
 principal harvest of them is about the close of this 
 month. They are now gathered for our English 
 vintage, the cider-making, which, in some counties, 
 is a busy and important employment. 
 
 Pears, treated in the same manner, yield a vinous 
 liquor called perry. These are the common drinks 
 in the counties where they are chiefly made. 
 
 Partridge-shooting commences on the 14th of this 
 month. Partridges feed on grain and other seeds 
 Scratched up ; therefore live chiefly on the ground, 
 making much use of their legs, and little of their 
 wings. They pair early in the spring, the hen sit- 
 
IN SEPTEMBER. 259 
 
 ting twenty-two days, and the young coming forth 
 full feathered, like chickens. When the young ones 
 are attacked, the old ones exhibit wonderful instan- 
 ces of attachment, and even feign being wounded, 
 to draw off the pursuers from the nest. They re- 
 tire to the groves in the day time, to the open stubble 
 in the night; and, when man begins his 
 
 " Falsely cheerful barbarous game of death," 
 
 he obliges them, by pointers, to take wing, for the 
 purpose of shooting them, or enclosing them in a net, 
 when they remain on the ground ; and it is highly 
 admirable to observe 
 
 " How, in his mid-career, the spaniel, struck 
 Stiff by the tainted itale, with open nose, 
 Outstretch'd and cautious, on the latent prey j 
 As in the sun the circling covey bask 
 Their varied plumes, and, watchful every way, 
 Thro' the rough stubble turn the secret eye." 
 
 In this month the snake casts his skin, parting by 
 rolling itself in the grass, with its whole external 
 cover ; even the outer coat of the eyes scale off, 
 and is left in the head of the slough like a pair of 
 spectacles. 
 
 Hazel nuts are now gathered in our thickets and 
 gardens in this month. The oak sheds its acorns, 
 and the nuts fall from the beech, both of which are 
 called mast. 
 
 The autumnal equinox, when day and night are 
 again equal over the whole globe, happens about the 
 
260 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 23d of this month, and is often attended with heavy 
 storms of wind and rain, which throw down much 
 of the fruit yet remaining; on the trees. 
 
 At the end of the month the leaves of many trees 
 lose their given colours, and begin their grave au- 
 tumnal tints, indicative of the approaching desolatioji 
 $f winter; which 
 
 .- - " come- to rule the varied year, 
 
 Sullen and sad, with all her rising train, 
 Vapours, and clouds, and storms." 
 
 Fruit. 
 
 This is the happy season in which Divine Good- 
 ness lavishes all sorts of fruit upon us in great abun- 
 dance. The charms of summer give place to more 
 solid enjoyments. The boughs of the apple-tree 
 bend under the weight of that golden fruit, the beau- 
 ty of which is still heightened by its purple streaks. 
 The melting pear, the plum sweet as honey, gjisptay 
 their charms, and seem to invite the hand of their 
 master. Should we not be unpardonable, if the 
 sight of these blessings which we owe to the mu- 
 nificence of God, did not create in us grateful re- 
 flections, and by such means sanctify the pleasures 
 of autumn ? 
 
 There is hardly any food so wholesome as fruits. 
 It was with a benificent view that Providence gave 
 them to us in a season when they are not only plea 
 sing and refreshing to us, but also excellent in a 
 
IN SEPTEMBER. 261 
 
 medicinal way. Apples come seasonably during 
 the heat of summer, because they temper the heat 
 of the blood, and cool the stomach and bowels. The 
 plums have an acid sweetness, with an oily, softening 
 juice, which may make them useful in many cases. 
 They gently open the body, and correct the acrid 
 humours, which so often occasion inflammatory dis- 
 orders. Nothing certainly is more delicious than 
 fruit. Each sort has a peculiar flavour to itself. 
 This variety renders them doubly pleasing to us. 
 Thus, God, like a tender father, provides not only 
 for the support of his creatures, but also for their, 
 pleasure. 
 
 Herrings. 
 
 This is the season in which they fish for herrings 
 on the coast of England and Scotland ; by which 
 means we receive a great quantity of these fish, 
 which feed the poor as well as the rich during the 
 whole year. Let us examine what is most impor- 
 tant in the natural history of these fish. Innumera- 
 ble shoals of herrings live in the Frozen Sea, near 
 the Ar<th Pole; but at a cert tin period they quit 
 that place, and come in multitudes to the coasts of 
 England and Scotland. It is not yet positively as- 
 certained what may be the cause of this emigration. 
 Some think it is to avoid whales and other great fish 
 in the frozen seas; others imagine that the prodi- 
 gious increase of the herring- M-.,-^ them to take 
 these long voyages, and to divide into separate colo- 
 
262 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 iries, lest they should be in too great quantities to 
 find sufficient food in the northern seas Perhaps, 
 also 1 , it is the desire of propagation, and a peculiar 
 instinct, which leads them to the places most favour- 
 able for the increase and preservation of their race. 
 It is certainly these reasons in general that occasion 
 such shoals of herrings to quit the north in the be- 
 ginning of the year ; for in the month of March a 
 wing of their army had already reached the coast of 
 Iceland, and it is their western wing. The herrings 
 are at this season so plentiful there, that by putting 
 the shovel with which the sails are watered into the 
 sea, there are great quantities of them taken up at a 
 time. The eastern wing advances farther into the 
 Baltic Sea. A part of it turns towards the North 
 Cape, sails along the coasts of Norway, and enters 
 through the southern straits into the sea. Another 
 part gains the northern point of Jutland, then enters 
 into the Zuider Zee, and from thence, passes again 
 through the Baltic Sea, in order to return to the 
 place from whence it set out. But the largest de- 
 tachment of the eastern wing, is that which turns to 
 the western coast, in 6rder to turn directly to the 
 Orkney Islands, where the Dutch go to catch them. 
 Towards the 8th of June, the sea in those parts is 
 full of herrings. They then direct their course to- 
 wards Scotland and England, where they fill all 
 the bays and mouths of the rivers with their fry. 
 After having quitted England, they probably re- 
 turn to thei. own country. The prodigious multi- 
 tude of these fish is surprising: one single herring 1 
 
I<tf OCTOBER. 263 
 
 {ays at least ten thouaand eggs in the sea near the 
 British coasts. 
 
 OCTOBER. 
 
 " Now stormy Winter, with her dusky train, 
 Frowns o'er the hill, and murmurs in the plain ; 
 The little birds the trembling forests fly, 
 And, led by nature, seek the southern sky." 
 
 PLANTS having gone through the progressive 
 stages of springing, flowering, and seeding, have at 
 this season brought to maturity the rudiments of a 
 future progeny, which are now to be committed to 
 the fostering bosom of the earth. This being done, 
 rhe parent vegetable, if of the herbaceous kind, either 
 totally dies, or perishes as far as it rose above 
 ground ; if a tree or shrub, it loses all its tender 
 parts which the spring and summer had put forth. 
 Seeds are scattered by the hand of nature in various 
 manners. The winds, which at this time arise, dis- 
 perse far and wide many seeds which are curio- sly 
 furnished with feathers or wings for this purpose. 
 Other seeds, by the means of hooks lay hold on 
 passing animals, and are thus carried to distant pla- 
 ces. Many are contained in berries, which being 
 eaten by birds, the seeds are discharged again unin- 
 jured, and grow where they happen to alight- - 
 Thus carefully has nature provided for the distribu- 
 tion and propagation of plants. 
 
264 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 The gloom of the declining year, enlivened by the 
 rich and bright colours of fading leaves, 
 
 " Now cheer the landscape in decay ;" 
 
 which to some are more interesting than the blos- 
 soms of spring, or the radiance and verdure of sum- 
 mer. Ripened berries in a great variety also at 
 this season adorn the hedges and decorate the 
 groves, as the hip, the haw, the sloe, the black- 
 berry, &c. 
 
 The common martin, whose nests hung under the 
 eaves of our houses, aftbrd so agreeable a spectacle 
 of parental fondness and assiduity, usually disap- 
 pears in October. As this, though one of the 
 smallest of the swallow kind, stays the latest, its 
 emigration to distant climates is less probable than 
 that of the others. 
 
 In most of the wine countries in Europe the vin- 
 tage takes place in October. The grape is one of 
 the latest fruits in ripening. When gathered, -they 
 are immediately pressed, and the juice is fermented 
 like that of apples in making cider 
 
 This month is particularly chosen, on account of 
 its mild temperature for the brewing of malt liquor 
 designed for long keeping, which is therefore com- 
 monly called old October. 
 
 The former continues to sow his winter corn 
 during this month ; and wheat is frequently not all 
 sown till the end of it. When the weather is too 
 wet for this business, he ploughs up the stubble 
 
*N OCTOBER, 265 
 
 ilelds ibr winter fallows. Acorns are sown for 
 young plantations at this time : and forest and fruit 
 trees are planted. 
 
 The ground is now covered with spiders, the 
 weaving gossamer; and the cold air condensing the 
 vapour arising from the warm earth, causes thick 
 and frequent fogs. 
 
 This month is the height of the hunting season ; 
 the weather being suitable, and the products of the 
 earth housed, 
 
 " All, now, is tree as air, and the gay pack, 
 In the rough, bristly stubbles, range unblam'd ; 
 
 fNo widow's tears o'erflow ; no secret curse 
 Swells in the farmer's breast, which his pale lips', 
 Tremblingly, conceals, by his fierce landlord aw'd ; 
 But, courteous now, he levels ev'ry fence, 
 Joins in the ceremony, and halloos loud, 
 Charm'd with the rattling thunder of the field." 
 
 At the very close of the month, a few flowers still 
 cheer the eye; and there is a second blow of some 
 kind, particularly of the woodbine. But the scent 
 of all these late flowers is comparatively faint. 
 
 Migration of the Birds. 
 
 * 
 
 This is the time when numbers of the birds, which, 
 during summer, had lived and found food in our 
 fields, woods, and gardens, are going to quit our cli- 
 mate for other countries. There are but few of them 
 which pass the winter with us: the rest leave us al- 
 most the whole winter. This migration is wonder- 
 ful in all respects ; and if we have not much attended 
 A a 
 
266 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 to these creatures while they were with us, let us at 
 least think of them now they are gone. Some birds, 
 without taking their flight very high, and without 
 separating from one another, drawing gradually to- 
 wards the south, to seek the seeds and fruit they pre- 
 fer; but they soon return back. Others, which are 
 called birds of passage, collect together at certain 
 seasons, go away in large bodies, and take their flight 
 into other climates Some kinds of them are content 
 with going from one country to another, where the 
 air and food draw them at certain seasons. Others 
 cross the seas, and undertake voyages of a surprising 
 length. 
 
 These migrations of the birds cannot be too much 
 admired Certainly the difference of heat and cold, 
 and the want of food, warn them to change place. 
 But what is the reason that, when the air is so mild 
 that they might remain in it, and that they firid enough 
 to eat, they still never fail to go at the appointed time? 
 How do they know that they will find food, and the 
 proper degree of heat, in other climates ? What is 
 the cause of their going all at the same time out of 
 our countries as if they had unanimously fixed, be- 
 forehand, their day of departure 2 How do they 
 contrive, in dark nights, and without knowing the 
 countries, to pursue their direct road constantly? These 
 and other questions on this interesting subject, are 
 embarrassing, and have not yet been answered in 
 a satisfactory manner, because we are not enough 
 acquainted with the nature and instinct of these ani- 
 mals. We may, however, behold, in the migrations? 
 
IN OCTOBER. 267 
 
 the wise and beneficent directions of Providence, 
 What wonderful means are made use of to preserve 
 and give food to certain birds ! With what tender 
 care is their subsistence pointed out to them, when 
 it fails them in some regions ! Let us learn from 
 thence, that every thing, throughout the vast empire 
 
 of nature, is planted with infinite wisdom. 
 
 
 
 The, Winter Sowing Time. 
 
 Great part of the food destined for us, and for ma- 
 ny animals, is, at this time, deposited in the ground. 
 The farmer has sowed his winter corn, and begins 
 to enjoy rest from his labours. He will soon have 
 the satisfaction to see his fields gradually covering 
 with a beautiful verdure, and giving the promise of 
 a plentiful harvest. Nature at first, indeed, works 
 in secret, while the seed is opening; but its opera- 
 tions may be discovered by taking some of the grains 
 out of the ground when they are beginning to shoot. 
 Two days after the grain is put into the earth, it is 
 swelled by the juices, and begins to shoot. The 
 shoot is always at one of the ends of the grain; and 
 that part of it which is next the outside of the grain, 
 is the little root of the future plant. The corn, when 
 sowed, generally begins, in twenty four hours, to 
 pierce through the coat, and unfold itself. The root 
 and stalk become visible. The root is first wrap- 
 ped up in a bag, which it bursts open. Some days 
 after, the other roots shoot out of their sides. The 
 fifth or sixth day, a green stalk springs up above the 
 
NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 ground. It remains some time in that state, till the 
 fine season comes, when the ear of corn breaks out 
 of the coats in which it had been inclosed and pro- 
 tected from cold and uncertain weather* 
 
 NOVEMBER. 
 
 
 The lengthen'd night elaps'd, the morning shines 
 
 Serene, in all her dewy beauty bright, 
 
 Unfolding fair the last autumnal day. 
 
 And now the mountain sun dispels the fog, 
 
 And rigid hoar frost melts before his beam ; 
 
 And hung on every spray, on every blade 
 
 Of grass, the myriad dew-drops twinkle round." 
 
 THE preceding month was marked by the change, 
 and this is distinguished by the fall, of the leaf. The 
 whole declining season of the year is often, in com- 
 mon language, denominated the fall. There is some- 
 thing extremely melancholy in this gradual process, 
 by which the trees are stripped of their beauty, and 
 left monuments of decay and desolation. This gra- 
 dual death of vegetable nature, and quick succession 
 of springing and falling leaves, suggests to 'the re- 
 flecting mind an apt comparison for the fugitive ge- 
 neration of men : 
 
 " Like leaves on trees the race of man is found, 
 
 Now green in youth, now withering on the ground ; 
 
 Another race the following spiing supplies, 
 
 They fall successive, and successive rise; 
 
 So generations in their course decay, 
 
 So flourish these when those are passed away I* 3 
 
IN NOVEMBER. 269 
 
 The loss of verdure, together with the shortened 
 days, the diminishing warmth,, and frequent rains, 
 justify the title of gloomy to the month of Novem- 
 ber; and other animals seem to symathize with man. 
 in feeling it as such. 
 
 Intervals of clear and pleasant weather,, however, 
 frequently occur ; and it long continues, 
 
 " The pale, descending year, yet pleasing still." 
 
 In fair weather the mornings are somewhat frosty; 
 but the hoar frost soon vanishes after sun-rise. 
 
 High winds frequently happen in November, 
 which at once strip the trees of their faded leaves, 
 and reduce them to their winter state of nakedness. 
 Flocks of wood pigeons, or stock doves, the latest 
 birds of passage in their arrival, visit us in this month. 
 Salmon now begin to ascend the rivers to spawn: 
 their force and agility in leaping over cataracts and 
 other obstacles to their ascent, are very surprising. 
 
 The farmer endeavours to finish his ploughing in, 
 the course of this month; then, laying up his utensils 
 till the ensuing spring, he takes his cattle and horses 
 out of the exhausted pastures into the yard or stable; 
 puts his hogs up. to fatten; turns his sheep into the 
 turnip-field, or, in stormy weather, feeds them withi 
 hay at the rick; and then, when 
 
 * The western sun withdraws the shortened dayy 
 And humid evening, gliding o'er the sky, 
 In her chill progress, to the ground condens'd 
 The vapour throws ;" 
 
 A a 2: 
 
270 NATURAL APPEARANCES 
 
 he seeks the cheerful fire-side, and even gloomy 
 November has its charms. 
 
 The Fall of tlit Leaf . 
 
 We now perceive the effects of approaching win- 
 ter in the woods and gardens. Almost all the plants 
 are losing their leaves, their chief ornament. The 
 most natural way this can be accounted for is from 
 the cold ; for the leaves are no sooner covered with 
 frost than they begin to fall in abundance, and all 
 the vegetables are stripped of their clothing. It can- 
 not be otherwise, as the cold causes the sap to stag- 
 nate in the plants. But the cold is not the only cause 
 of the leaves falling ; for they fall when it does not 
 freeze the whole winter, and when the trees are even 
 put into green-houses to preserve them from cold. 
 It is therefore probable that other causes also contri- 
 bute to strip the trees. But we must not suppose, 
 that these fallen leaves are entirely lost, and of no 
 use Reason and experience teach the contrary. 
 These leaves, which grow rotten when they are fall- 
 en, make manure for the ground. The snow and 
 vain wash the salts out of them, and convey them to 
 the roots of the trees. These strewed leaves, heaped 
 together upon the young plants, preserve their roots. 
 They cover also the seeds, and keep them warm 
 and moist. This is more particularly observed in 
 respect to the oak leaves. They afford excellent 
 manure, not only to the tree itself, but also to its 
 shoots; and are also very useful for forest-pasture, 
 
IN NOVEMBER. 
 
 as they increase the growth of the grass on which 
 they fall and rot. Leaves are spread in stables in- 
 stead of straw, and make a good litter for cattle, or 
 are mixed with common dung. This mould is par- 
 ticularly useful in gardens, where they make layers 
 of it, which assist greatly the growth of fruit and 
 young trees. 
 
 Thus fallen leaves have their uses in administer- 
 ing to the comforts and necessities of man, while to 
 his mind the fall of the leaf is an emblem of this life, 
 and the frailty of all earthly things. 
 
 The Beginning of Winter. 
 
 The sun is now taking leave of the world. Every 
 thing is changed with us. The earth, which was 
 lately so beautiful and fruitful, is now becoming 
 gradually barren and poor. We no longer behold 
 that fine enamel of the trees in blossom ; the charm 
 of spring, the magnificence of summer, those differ- 
 ent tints and shades of verdure in the woods and 
 meads, the purple grapes, nor the golden harvests 
 which crowned our fields. The trees have lost their 
 clothing ; the pines, the elms, and oaks, bend with 
 the force of the northern blasts The rays of the 
 sun are too feeble now to warm the atmosphere or 
 earth. The fields, which have bestowed so much 
 upon us, arc at last exhausted, and promise no more 
 this year. But in the midst of these melancholy 
 prospects, let us still observe, that nature faithfully 
 fulfils the eternal law prescribed to her, of being 
 
272 NATURAL APPEARAKCES 
 
 useful at all times and seasons of the year. Winter 
 draws nigh ; the flowers are going ; and even when 
 the sun shines, the earth no longer appears with its 
 usual beauty. Yet the country, stripped and desart 
 as it is, still presents to a feeling mind the image of 
 happiness. We may recollect with gratitude to 
 Heaven, that the fields which are now barren were 
 once covered with corn and plentiful harvest. It is 
 true, that the orchards and gardens are now strip- 
 ped, but the remembrance of what they bestowed 
 upon us may make us content to bear the northern 
 blasts which at present we feel so sharp. The 
 leaves are fallen from the fruit trees ; the grass of the 
 field is withered ; dark clouds fill the sky, and fall 
 tn heavy rains- The unthinking man complains at 
 this, but the wise man beholds the earth moistened 
 with rain, and beholds it with a sweej^ satisfaction. 
 Though the earth has lost its beauty and exterior 
 charms, and is exposed to the murmurs of those it 
 has nourished and cheered, it has already begun 
 again to labour secretly within its bosom for their 
 future welfare. 
 
 DECEMBER. 
 
 < No mark of vegetable life is seen, 
 
 Save the dark leaves of some rude ever-green ; 
 
 No bird to bird repeats his tuneful call, 
 
 Save the lone red-breast on the moss-grown wall!" 
 
 THE changes which take place in the fare of na- 
 ture during this month, are little more than so many 
 
IN DECEMBER. 273 
 
 advances in the progress towards universal gloom 
 and desolation. The day rapidly shortens, and the 
 weather becomes foul and cold. 
 
 In our climate, however, no great and continued 
 severity of cold usually takes place before the close 
 of the month. 
 
 Several of the wild quadrupeds now take to their 
 winter concealments, which they either seldom ov 
 never quit during the winter. Of these, some are 
 in an absolutely torpid or sleeping state, taking no 
 food for a considerable time; others are only drowsy 
 and inactive, and continue to feed on provisions 
 which they have hoarded up. In this country few 
 become entirely torpid. 
 
 Bats retire early to caves and holes, where they 
 remain the whole winter, suspended by their hind 
 feet, and closely wrapped up in the membranes of the 
 fore feet. As their food is chiefly insects', they can 
 lay up no store for the winter, and therefore must 
 be starved, if nature did not thus render food unne- 
 cessary for them. Dormice also lie torpid the great- 
 est part of the winter, though they lay up stores of 
 provision. A warm day sometimes revives them ; 
 when they eat a little, but soon relapse into their for- 
 mer sleepy condition. 
 
 Squirrels, and various kinds of field-mice, provide 
 magazines of food against winter, but are not known 
 to become torpid. The badger, the hedgehog, and 
 the mole, keep close in their winter quarters in the 
 northern regions, and sleep away great part of the 
 season. 
 
2-74 NATURAL APPEAKANCES 
 
 The only vegetables which now flourish are the 
 numerous tribes of mosses, and the lichens, or liver 
 worts. Lichens cover the ditch banks, and other 
 neglected spots, with a leather-like substance, which 
 in some countries serves as food both to men and 
 cattle The rein-deer lichen is the greatest treasure 
 to the poor Laplanders, who depend upon it for the 
 support of their only species of domestic cattle dur- 
 ing their tedious winters. 
 
 On the 21st of December happens the shortest 
 day ; when the sun is not quite eight hours above 
 the horizon in these islands. About fifteen degrees to 
 the northward the sun does not rise at all, and a con- 
 tinued night lasts weeks or months, according to the 
 distance from the north pole. But, on the contrary, 
 to the countries near the south pole, it is at this peri- 
 od perpetual day ; and every where to the south of 
 the eqnatov it is summer. A.s our summer advances, 
 their winter approaches. 
 
 The festival of Christmas seasonably cheers this 
 comfortless period. Great preparations were made 
 for it in the country, and plenty of rustic dainties 
 provided for its celebration, according to the rules of 
 ancient hospitality ; and 
 
 . .. " Frequent in the sounding hall they wake 
 The rural gambol." 
 
 Thus the old year steals away unlamented, and 
 scarcely perceived; and a new one begins with 
 
US DECEMBER. 275 
 
 lengthening days and brighter skies, inspiring fresh 
 hopes and pleasing expectations, that 
 
 <* All this uniform uncolour'd scene> 
 Shall be dismantled of its fleecy load, 
 And flush into variety again." 
 
 ' 
 
 The Advantages of Winter. 
 
 The frost and cold of winter prevent many hurt- 
 ful vapours in the higher regions of the atmosphere 
 from falling upon us, and even purifies the air. Far 
 from being always bad for our health, it often 
 strengthens it, and preserves the humours from pu- 
 trefaction, which a constant heat would certainly oc- 
 casion. If the vapours which collect in the atmos- 
 phere were always to fall in rain, the earth would 
 be too soft and wet, our bodies would be too full of 
 humours, and too much relaxed ; whereas the cold 
 braces and promotes the circulation of blood. We 
 are told by travellers, that in Greenland, where the 
 ground is covered with mountains of ice, and where 
 in winter the days are only four or five hours long, 
 the air is very wholesome, clear, and light: and, ex- 
 cept a few complaints in the chest and eyes, occa- 
 sioned partly by the quality of the food, they have 
 seldom there the disorders so common in Europe. 
 
 As man, though active by choice, and though la- 
 bour is necessary to him, is still glad to interrupt his 
 employments to taste the sweets of sleep, so also our 
 nature yields to the change of seasons, and takes a 
 pleasure in it, because in reality it contributes towards 
 
276 NATURAL APPEARAKCES. 
 
 our welfare and happiness. Behold our fields and 
 gardens ! they are indeed buried in snow ; but this 
 is necessary, in order to preserve them from the cold, 
 as well as to prevent the grain from "corrupting. 
 The ground requires rest, after having yielded in the 
 summer all wfewant for the winter. If our present 
 support had not been provided for, if in this severe 
 season we were obliged to cultivate the earth, there 
 might be some foundation for our complaints. But 
 all our wants are supplied, and we enjoy a repose 
 suitable to the season. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 HAVING endeavoured to point out the changes on 
 the face of nature, during the varying year., we shall 
 conclude our labours with the following impressive 
 extract from St. Pierre. 
 
 a We have attempted, in the course of this work/'* 
 says this amiable writer, 4 < to treat of the harmonies 
 of the sun and moon with animated beings ; but these 
 harmonies are inexhaustible. All animals, in short, 
 have the phases of their life regulated by those of 
 the sun and moon. Scarcely does the orb of day sink 
 tinder the horizon, when all animals are struck with 
 lethargy, with the exception of those to whom night 
 is the season of excursion. The wakefulness of the lat- 
 ter proves, as well asa number of other effects of nature, 
 that sleep is not a mere mechanical result of the absence 
 of the sun. Insects now take refuge in the hearts of 
 plants; birds, nestling- in foliage, repose with their 
 heads under their wings ; a flock of sheep retires to 
 rest under the shelter of a hedge, and the watchful 
 dog, who guards them, sinks into slumber, after hav-. 
 ing turned his body several times round. All the 
 functions of intelligence are suspended, in the ab- 
 sence of that orb which produces its images ; nay, 
 several of the smaller insects find their existence ter- 
 minated by the setting sun; for the ephemeral fly 
 does not see a second dawn. Soon, ho we very comes 
 
 * Harmonies of Nature, 
 
 Bb 
 
278 CONCLUSION 
 
 forth the moon to give new life to the world. .Like 
 the sun, she has her plants, her insects, her birds, 
 her quadrupeds; it is by her doubtful light that the 
 mirabilis, and other nocturnal plants, open their (low- 
 ers ; that various Species of fish pursue their progress 
 to another clime; that the tortoise lays her eggs on 
 the solitary strand ; and that the nightingale, the bird 
 of spring, delights to make the echoes of the forest 
 resound with its song. 
 
 l( Many insects live only during one of the lunar 
 quarters; others live a fortnight, others a month; some 
 go through an entire season, and die at the summer 
 solstice ; but the greater number perishes at the au- 
 tumnal equinox, at the time when the sun proceeds 
 io enlighten another hemisphere. It is then that the 
 marmot retires and falls asleep in the hollow rock, 
 to awaken only at the return of the spring equinox ; 
 for to her the year seems a day and a night of six 
 months each. A crowd of animals suspend their 
 labours, in our hemisphere, at the same season ; the 
 bees take rest in their hives; several species of birds, 
 like the quail and swallow, follow the course of the 
 sun, and pass into the hemisphere which he warms; 
 While a multitude perishes in that which he aban- 
 dons. Carnivorous animals are dispersed in all di- 
 rections to devour their remains; the furred fox, and 
 the white bear, penetrate even into the bosom of the 
 frozen zone, into regions of snow and ice, which 
 hardly any living animal can inhabit. The currents 
 of the ocean still carry to the shore a quantity of ma- 
 rine substances coming from the temperate and tor- 
 
CONCLUSION. 2T9 
 
 ritl zones. It is thus that the instinct which carries 
 the foxes and white bears to the sea coast of our fro- 
 zen zone during winter, leads me to suppose that 
 the currents of the ocean bring them a supply of food, 
 which would not be the case, unless these currents 
 descended from an opposite pole. 
 
 " There exists the greatest differences in respect 
 to the extent of the orbits of the different planets; one 
 requires only a month for its revolution round the 
 sun ; others, respectively, three months, eight months, 
 two years, twelve years, thirty years, and, finally, 
 nearly eighty-four years. To all these, a calculator 
 may find, or fancy that he finds, corresponding pe- 
 riods in the duration of vegetable and animal life, 
 He may compute that several kinds of insects, such 
 as butterflies, live between one month and eight; 
 others, such as the May bug, two years, or one year 
 of Mars Several birds and quadrupeds, among 
 others, goats are understood to live twelve years, or 
 a year of Jupiter; other quadrupeds thirty years, or 
 a year of Saturn; while the life of man may be oc- 
 casionally brought forward as completing the longest 
 period of all, the revolution of the Georgium Sidus. 
 A farthei- inquiry might lead such a speculator to 
 ascertain examples of still longer life in the animal 
 and vegetable world, and to find, perhaps, parallels 
 to the return of comets 
 
 " Leaving these visionary speculations, I am to 
 observe, that the animals which die of old age go oft* 
 the stage as they came upon it, without being aware 
 of the change The last steps in the descent of life 
 
280 CONCLUSION. 
 
 are on as gentle a slope as those of its commence* 
 ment. They have not been led, by vain ambition, 
 to climb precipices, or to incur a violent death ; but, 
 faithful to the laws received from Nature, they re- 
 store her that instinct which has now become useless 
 in an exhausted machine: they expire without regret, 
 remorse, or murmur. When a tranquil death takes 
 place in the night, the moon may be said to untie 
 those links which she strung together at the time of 
 birth. Her light still sheds a pale ray over their 
 breathless bodies, and covers them with her funereal 
 crape; while the earth, their common mother, which 
 receives them in her bosom, raises, as an ornament 
 to their tomb, the broad foliage of the burdock, or a 
 garland of ivy. Time, like a reaper, cuts down ge- 
 neration after generation of animals; and he like- 
 wise plants and gathers, but in comparatively smaller 
 numbers, the individuals of our species. 
 
 " Let man, however, not vent complaints on the 
 short duration of life; his celestial harmonies will 
 subsist after his terrestial are at an end. The Au- 
 thor of Nature has attached to his bodily existence 
 several years of bitterness and trial ; but he has given 
 his soul an eternity of joy and delight He is by no 
 means a being condemned to creep on this globe, or 
 to tear its bosom with the ploughshare for the sake 
 of supporting a frail existence HisJife is transient, 
 but it has an object, and that object is sublime. Be- 
 hold him expiring- in his bed; his body is in pain, 
 but he already contemplates a God prepared to re- 
 ceive him. Can this being, so weak and helpless, 
 
CONCLUSION, 28ft 
 
 be so strongly impressed with a thought that would 
 not have been sanctioned by the Creator of all 
 thoughts! No; it is not in vain that he has opened 
 his hopes to a future destiny. He quits a world of 
 darkness for a world of light ; he quits misfortune, 
 and frail mortals like himself, to enter on an abode 
 where death is not known. His eyes will no lon- 
 ger be distressed by the sight of distress ; every ob- 
 ject will be replete with content and satisfaction. 
 How great must be the transports of man, when, 
 escaped from the agony of life, he sees the gates of 
 heaven open to him. He is no longer a creature of 
 the dust; he is an angel, a superior being, advanced 
 to an upper region. After remaining, during a sea- 
 son, a slave and in irons, now behold him free, and 
 the possessor of a new domain ! But lately sad and 
 suffering, he dragged his step towards death, and he 
 rises from it full of glory. He inhabited a world 
 covered with funereal cypress, bedewed with tears, 
 where all are subject to change and to death; where 
 we indulge love only to experience suffering, and 
 where we meet our friends only to part with them, 
 He is now transported to an abode where all is eter- 
 nal; his soul is kindled with everlasting love, and he 
 casts, from the height of the firmament, a sympa- 
 thizing look towards his fellow-creatures in thi& 
 tower world." 
 
 FINIS. 
 
35745 
 
 ^