m MBi t THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID I POPULAR LECTURES ON THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY AND THE SCIENCES, VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, THE ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE POISONS, AND ON THE ^ . ' HUMAN FACULTIES, MENTAL AND CORPOREAL, AS DELIVERED BEFORE of WILLIAM LEMPRIERE, M.D. , . , . AUTHOR OF A TOOR'TO MOROCCO; OBSERVATIONS ON THE DISEASES OF JAMAICA, &C.; AND ONE OF^HE VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE ABOVE SOCIETY* THE SECOND EDITION, TO WHICH .HAVE BEEN ADDED TWO LECTURES ON THE MAMMIFEROUS ANI- )f MALS, AS SINCE READ TO THE ABOTE SOCIETY. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY WHITTAKER, TREACHER, AND CO. A VE MARIA LANE. # * 1830. THB RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD YARBOROUGH, D.C. L. F.R.S. AND F.S.A. PRESIDENT, TO SIR. RICHARD SIMEON, BART. ONE OF THE VICE PRESIDENTS, AND TO THE OTHER OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF of /8ie> THE FOLLOWING LECTURES, ARE WITH PERMISSION, MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY THE AUTHOR. !Vi367l95 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. THE following Lectures, intended as a commencement of discourses on several branches of natural history and the sciences, have been published for those kind friends of both sexes, who, having done the author the honour of being present at their delivery, may be desirous of refreshing their memories by a printed recapitulation; and for the perusal of such general readers, as may take an interest in the subjects, upon which he has proposed to treat. To the man of science, he has little new to offer. The latter will be fully aware that most of the knowledge we at present poss- ess, must be derived from the collective information of those who have published before us ; and that where the more strik- ing features of any particular science only, are to be detailed, however the language may, by different writers he varied, the matter to be correct, ought in most instances lo be the same. He therefore will readily discriminate between what por- tion of the following work is derived from other sources, what share of it the author can honestly claim for himself; and upon a fiat so obtained, he will rest satisfied. The author here feels it incumbent on him to mention, that VI. the first lecture, viz. on the Study of Natural History and the Sciences, subsequently to its delivery in the I*le of Wight, was read before the Philosophical Society at Portsmouth, in return for the compliment paid to his own Institution by one of its distinguished members, who favoured it with a very interesting discourse on Light and Vision. A mutual desire to communicate information, and thus to render knowledge more general and useful, forms one of the leading features of scientific associations ; and this necessarily tends to promote that kindly and hospitable under- standing between the respective members of each, which at once places ceremony at a distance, and makes a formal intro- duction altogether unnecessary. The author has been led to this reflection, from the very polite and friendly reception he experienced upon his visit to Portsmouth ; where, under the direction of some scientific gentlemen, an excellent institution, (embracing a comprehensive museum and a suitable lecture room,) has been established, that promises great advantages to that important place, and to its very populous neighbour- hood. With respect to the utility of such associations now extend- ing themselves throughout the kingdom, he may be permitted to remark, that as it has been deemed of importance to bestow the light of science on the labouring classes, it surely is still more essential, that the middling ranks (upon whom the welfare of society so mainly depends,) should also partake of its benefi- cial influence ; and he is not aware of any pursuit more calcu- lated to enlarge their minds, and to lay the foundation for use- ful knowledge, than the contemplation of that subject which the above societies alluded to, have principally in view; namely the works of the creation, the laws by which they are reguiaied, and the practical applications of which they are susceptible. Should the author in his humble endeavour, in any degree have called forth in the minds of his readers, the feeling Vll calculated to promote a study so delightful and instructive, he need hardly say, that his ambition will, in the most ample degree, have been gratified.* * The following is the present establishment of the Isle of Wight Philoso- phical Society. President. The Right Honourable LORD YARBOROUGH. v~.;j. t. S sir Richard Simeon, Bart. Presents Lempriere> M I Eel. .. I Perch, Mackarcl, Acanthopterygii | Sword _ fish . Accipitres Passeres Scansores Gallina- . Grallse . Palmipedes Chelonia . Sauria Ophidia . Batrachia Lophobranchi . .. Malaoopterjgu Cephalopoda Pterepoda . Gasteropoda Acephala . Brachiopoda Cirrhopoda Sepia, Nautilus. Clio, Hyala. Slug, Snail, Limpet. Oyster Muscle, As' cidia, Pyrosoma. Lingula, Terebutula. Barnacle. III. ARTICULATA. 1. ANNELIDES, OR VERMES. Tubicolse . Serpnla, Sabella. Dorsibranchiae . Nereis, Aphrodite. Abranchias . Earth-worm, Leech. 2. CRUSTACEA. Decapoda Stomapoda Amphipoda Isopoda Crab, Lobster, Prawn. Squill. Gammarus. Asellus Branchiopoda Monoculus. 3. ARACHNIDA. Pulmonalia . Spider, Scorpion. Trachealia . Piialangium, Mite. 4. INSECTA. Aptera . . Centipede, Podura. Coleoptera . Beetle, Glouo-worm. Grasshopper, Locust. Fire-Jit/, Aphis. j Dr ^'^y, Ephe- ^ mera. Bee, Wasp, Ant. . Butterfly, Moth, Xenos, Stylops. Gnat, House-IJy. Orthoptera . Hemiptera . Neuroptera Hymenoptera Lepidoptera Rhidiptera . Diptera . . IV. ZOOPHYTA. Echinodermata Starfish, Echinus. Entosoa . \* M " ** . Actinia, Medusa. c Hydra, Coralline, f Pennatula, Sponge. C Brachionus, Vibrio, 4 jProteus, Mona$. Acalephae Polypi . Infusoria [147] BLUMENBACH'S CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS; Extracted from that Author's Manual of Natural History, translated by Gore. MAMMALIA. ORDER 1. BIMANA. Man with two hands. 2. QUADRUMANA. Animals with four hands apes, baboons, mon- keys, and makis (Lemurs) 3. CHEIROPTERA. Mammiferous animals, in which the fore feet form membranes for flying bats. 4. DIGITATA Mammiferous animals with separate toes on all four feet. This order is divided, according to the differences of the teeth, into the following three families : (A.) Glires. With teeth like those of the mouse, as the squirrel, dor- mouse, and other mice ; the marmot, guinea pig, jerboa, hare, por- cupine. (B.) Fercc. Carnivorous animals, properly so called, and some other genera, with teeth of the same kind lions, dogs, &c., the bear, weasel, civet, opossum, hedgehog, shrew, mole. (C.) Bruta. Without teeth, or at least without fore-teeth, &c.~- sloth, ant eaters, armadilloes, manis. 5. SOLIDUNCULA The horse, &c. 6. BISULCA. Ruminating animals with cloven feet the camel, the ox, the goat, the sheep, &c. 7 MULTUNGULA. Mammiferous animals, for the most part very large, unshapely, with bristles of scattered hairs, with more than two toes on each foot as swine (which have usually four toes,) the tapir, elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus. 6. PALM AT A.- Mammiferous animals, with feet made for swimming; subdivided according to the different forms of their teeth, into three families, as above : (A.) G/ires. The beaver. (B.) Fera. Seals, otters, &c. (C.) Bruta. Duck-billed animals walrus, manati j and from these the most suitable transition to order [148] ORDER 9. CETACEA. ^ Whales, warm-blooded animals, which have nothing ia common with cold blooded fishes but the name ; and the natural connexion of which, with mammifera, was correctly remarked even by Ray. BIRDS. A. LAND BIRDS. 1. ACCIPITRES. Birds of prey ; with strong hooked beaka, mostly with short, strong, knotty feet, and large, crooked, sharp claws the vulture, the falcon, the owl. 2. LEVIROSTRES.- With short feet ; and very large, thick, but mostly hollow, and therefore, light bills parrots, toucans, &c. 3. PICI, Wii.li short feet; moderately long and small bills, and the tongue sometimes worm-shaped, sometimes thread-like the wry aeok, woodpecker, creeper, humming bird, &c. 4. CORACES With short feet, and the bill moderately long, tolerably strong, and convex above ravens, crows, &c. 5. PASSER ES. The singing birds, with swallows, c. The feet short, the bill more or less conical, pointed, and of various length and thickness. 6. GALLINJ3. Birds with short feet, the bill somewhat convex above, and having a fleshy membrane at the base the pigeon, the part- ridge, the pheasant, the peacock, the common cock, &c. 7. STRUTHIONES.- Large land birds unsuited for flying the ostrich, cassowary, and dodo. (B ) WATER BIRDS. 8. GRALL./E. Birds found in marshes with long feet ; long, and almost cylindrical bills, and generally a long neck the heron, the bittern, the plover, the rail, &c. 9. ANSERES. Swimming birds with oar-like feet ; a short bill covered with skin, generally serrated at the edge, and terminated at the extremity of the upper jaw by a little hook the swan, goose, duck, and the various species of sea fowl. AMPHIBIA. 1. REPTILES. Amphibia with four feet tortoises, frogs, lizard*, 2. SERPENTES, Serpents without any external organs of motion. [149] FISHES. (A.) CARTILAGINOUS, WITHOUT TRUE BONES. (B.) BONY FISHES FISHES PROPERLY SO CALLED. ORDER (A,) 1. CHONDROPTERYGII. Without an operculum, or covering of the gills as the shark, the lamprey, the torpedo, the skate, the saw fish, &c. (A.") 2. BRANCHIOSTEGI. With an operculnm. the sturgeon, the globe fish, the sun fish, &c. (B.) 3. APODES. Without ventral fins the eel, the sword fish, &c. (B.) 4. JUGULARES. Having the ventral in front of the pectoral fins the haddock, the cod, the piper, &c. (B.) 5. THORACICI. Having the ventral immediately below the pectoral fins the dory, the plaice, the flounder. * (B.) 6. ABDOMINALES. Having the ventral behind the pectoral fin the salmon, the trout, and most fresh water fish. INSECTS. 1. COLEOPTERA. Mostly with horny bodies beetles. 2. HEMIPTERA. With four wings, folded together crucically or longitudinally, hard for one half, and almost like parchment the cock roach, the grasshopper. 3. LEPIDOPTERA. With soft hairy bodies, and four expanded wings covered with coloured scales butterflies, 4. NEUROPTERA. With four transparent, net-shaped, or lattice- like wings the ephemera or day fly, the water moth. 5. HYMENOPTERA. With four transparent veined wings the wasp, the bee, the ant. 6. DIPTERA. Insects with two wings, (uncovered) the gnat, the various species of flies. 7. APTERA. Insects without wings the spider, the scorpion, the crab, the flea.* WORMS. 1. INTESTINA. Long worms without any evident external organs of motion common earth worms, human worms, &c. 2. MOLLUSC A. Naked, soft worms, with visible, and often very numerous extremities the slug, sea blubber, sea anemone, &c. * In the above order of insects, Blumenbach has followed Liimtcus. [150] ORDER 3. TESTACEA. Animals inhabiting shells, and much resembling those of the preceding order the barnacle, muscle, oyster, and most of the animals contained in the sea shells. 4. CRUSTACEA. Animals having almost cartilaginous bodies j and in some cases, with a firm incalcareous crust sea hedgehogs, sea stars, &e. 6. CORRALLIA. Polypes and other zoophites inhabiting coral branches and similar structures. 6. ZOOPHITA. Naked, plant-like animals, without any habitation* ; also the animalcule of infusions. LECTURE IV. ON ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE POISONS* THE advantages of studying natural history and chemistry in all their respective branches, in no instance perhaps can be more powerfully illus- trated, than by pointing out the destructive influ- ence upon the human frame of those substances in nature, or produced by art, denominated poisons; and which are derived from the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral kingdoms. Man, at a very early period, must have become ac- quainted with the baneful effects of animal and vegetable poisons. To the first, he would un- avoidably be liable, from accidentally being brought in contact with venomous animals, whose attacks he could not at all times elude ; to the * Having been prevented from following up ray intention of giving a lecture on the mineral, as well as on the animal and vegetable poisons ; I have endeavoured to supply the deficiency, by introducing at the termination of ihe second lecture on poisons, a synoptical table, in which those of the mineral kingdom have, I trust, been sufficiently noticed, to answer every practical purpose. 152 ON ANIMAL AND latter, from that spirit of investigation which urged him to discover new substances for the gratification of his taste or his appetite, in the prosecution of which, he would naturally give trial to such as were deleterious in their nature, in common with those that were wholesome and useful. Having thus far succeeded, he would still be exposed to accidents, from mistaking one substance for another, in those instances, where the external character of vegetables bore so near a resemblance, as not to admit of an easy dis- crimination. Of mineral poisons he could know but little; as the various metals and their chemical changes by which a poisonous quality is imparted, wer& then only very partially understood ; and the earths, the alkalies, and the acids (most of which, excepting in very limited proportions are inimical to the human frame), from being at that time but little used, were still further removed from his knowledge, The more we become acquainted with those substances which have been denominated poisons, the more are we convinced (when properly ap- plied), of their utility, either in the arts, in medi- cine, or in some instances as articles of food, of which I shall offer some practical illustrations when I come to treat on particular poisons ; and although those from venomous animals, may, in some instances, be an exception to these obser- VEGETABLE POISONS. 153 vations, and the necessity of the animals, from which they are derived, may not be brought within our limited comprehension ; yet we know that the weapons, by which they inflict their deadly wounds, are intended for their defence, and that, without them, their means of subsist- ence would no longer exist ; while the horror, uniformly produced by venomous serpents, serves as a protection to the whole tribe. But man was not satisfied in his earlier dis- coveries with the power of discriminating between that which was salubrious, and that which was injurious to his constitution ; but he must go one step further, and ascertain how far these dele- terious substances might be turned to his own account, He soon discovered, that if his life could be destroyed by their accidental operation, that of his enemies also could be taken away by an ingenious application of them, without much risk (as he supposed) of entailing upon himself the consequences of premeditated murder; or that, if wearied of life himself, he possessed the ready means of getting rid of the evil, without the horror, and (as he imagined) without the pain, attending the more ordinary modes of committing suicide. Hence the origin of secret poisoning ; which has been prevalent for time immemorial, and which has disgraced the annals of mankind more 154 ON ANIMAL AND than the committal of those other numerous crimes to which man has at all times shewn him- self so prone; and hence savage nations acquired the means of imparting to their weapons, a des- tructive character, which rendered them unfail- ingly mortal to those with whom they came in contact. History informs us that secret poisoning, whe- ther for self-destruction or the administering of poison to others for felonious purposes, is of great antiquity; and we have accordingly records of this diabolical practice being carried to very extraordinary lengths in Greece, Rome, Carthage, Persia, and in all the eastern nations then dis- covered. The means, which they adopted to effect their purpose, (if we can credit the accounts transmitted,) were cruel and vindictive in the extreme a tedious and most painful death await- ing those who were thus to be sacrificed, and often when no suspicion was entertained of the cause by which their sufferings were produced or of the lingering event which was to follow. In less ancient times, when the human mind had been enlightened by the beams of a most benevolent religion, it might have been expected that this detestable custom would have been completely exploded, or confined to a few isolated cases, in which the national character would not have been committed; but we find, that not two centuries ago, it was practised to a considerable VEGETABLE POISONS. 155 amount in France, and in Italy ; the French and Italian historians having noticed some very ex- traordinary modes adopted for the purpose, that were to produce their effects within any given period, whether short or distant, and in a man- ner, to which we hardly at this day know how to give credit. In England, secret poisoning, though formerly much more frequent than at present, was at no period carried to the same length as appears to have taken place in the southern parts of Europe, in Asia, and in Africa ; and the nations of Europe now are too active in detecting crimes, too decisive in their punishments, and (we hope we may add) too enlightened, to allow such a system to prevail to any considerable degree. Thus, in the place of whole families being taken off by the secret administration of poison as for- merly, we hear of only single instances of this offence being committed ; and those compara- tively of rare occurrence. But if civilization has weakened those cruel propensities which distinguished the less refined periods of society ; or if wise and vigorous regu- lations have kept them within ordinary bounds ; yet still vice predominates in the human mind under a different form, though less glaring in its external character. It is true, in these improved times, we hear but of few instances of murder being committed through the agency of poison. 156 ON ANIMAL AND But when we take into consideration the various frauds which are practised by mercenary men for lucrative purposes, by introducing deleterious substances into all the articles of life, and the slow but certain destruction of health which is thereby produced, we may perhaps have but little reason to rejoice at the exchange ; more especially as the delinquents are placed less within the reach of detection, than when more decided violence has been committed, and the operation of these, their detestable practices, are more extensive and general, than where active poison has been administered from motives of personal gratification. With respect to the mode of operation on the animal frame of the several poisons, each species produces effects peculiar to itself, and therefore requires a separate treatment. The poison, from a venomous animal, operates only when introduced directly into the blood ves- sels; becoming, when received into the stomach, inert and no longer deleterious. ltseffects,however, when once it reaches the system, are of a much more general nature than those of other poisons, and when derived from particular animals, are most frequently beyond the reach of medicine. The other two poisons, the vegetable and the mineral, act with the greatest force upon being taken into the stomach ; the vegetable poisons, VEGETABLE POISONS. 157 in that case, with some few exceptions, injuring principally the brain and nervous system; and the mineral, the internal parts to which they are immediately applied, and more remotely, the distant organs. There ivS another class of poisons which may be derived from any of the three kingdoms sepa- rately, or in combination, that produce their effects only through the medium of the lungs ; and these have been denominated the gaseous poisons, which we shall notice in another place; confining ourobservations for the present, to those which act upon the system through the medium of the blood vessels and of the stomach; com- mencing with the animal poisons. Animal poisons may be divided into three classes. First, those which are introduced into the system by the bite or sting of some venomous animal. Secondly, certain animal subtances, which, received into the stomach, produce poi- sonous effects. And, thirdly, contagious poisons, as the plague, contagious fever, small pox, and the like; a history of which, as belonging more especially to the province of medicine, we shall omit in these lectures. In treating of venomous animals, it is not my intention to give an account of each species, or to enter into a particular history of their struc- ture and economy. This would be foreign to my present plan, and would serve to throw no 158 ON ANIMAL AND light upon the subject I have in view, viz. an illustration of the different poisons, and of their effects upon the human frame. And as the nature of venomous poisons, excepting from the bite of a rabid animal, is nearly the same in all, and as their effects on the constitution differ only in degree ; it will be sufficient to notice a few of those animals of each climate which are considered to be the most dangerous ; to mark out their external characters by which they are to be dis- tinguished from animals of the same class, which experience has taught are innocuous ; and to describe the apparatus and mechanism of the instrument by which the poison is prepared and carried into the system, when they inflict a wound upon other animals. Venomous animals, if we except those which are rendered accidentally rabid, are confined to the serpent and insect tribes ; and of these tribes, very few belong to the former class. Unfortunate, indeed, would it have been for mankind, and for the whole of the animal species, had quadrupeds and birds possessed in common with reptiles and insects, the power of destroying life by the same means which now obtain in venomous animals. In that case, man's whole life must have been devoted to the guarding against their attacks ; and personal security and self-confidence would have been at an end. But in this, as in every thing else, Providence has VEGETABLE POISONS. 159 wisely and humanely ordered it otherwise. For we find that this mode of defence is not only confined to two species, serpents and insects, both of which fly at the approach of man, and only attack when escape becomes impracticable; but that out of two hundred and thirty species of serpents, not forty have been found to possess poisonous fangs, and that of the bites of these, not twelve are fatal. While that of the insect tribe, the proportion of innocuous, to those which are offensive, is still much greater. Of the venomous serpents, the rattle snake of America, and the cobra de capella of India are the most formidable out of Europe ; while the viper, which, compared with the former, is of little import, is the only European serpent which bears a venomous character ; and the latter ani- mal is annually so diminishing in numbers, that its complete extinction may be calculated on at no very distant period. Climate, we know, has a great influence in the production and increase of reptiles of every kind, as well as in imparting activity to the poison peculiar to venomous ani- mals; and from this circumstance, we can readily comprehend, why the most formidable animals are to be met with in the warmest latitudes. But it is well understood, if any credit can be given to historians, that ancient Europe was infested with serpents, both in number and cha- racter, of which we hear nothing at the present 160 ON ANIMAL AND day ; and the common viper, we know, is an- nually on the decline. \Ve must, therefore, look for some other cause, independently of climate, for this fortunate change in the natural history of Europe; arid we shall probably find it in the advance of cultivation and agriculture peculiar to modern Europe, and to this country in particular, by which impenetrable forests and woods, that afforded shelter to, arid nurtured such animals, have been cut down and cleared ; extensive swamps, in which they were also to be found, have been drained ; and the haunts of venomous reptiles have, in every direction, been disturbed or destroyed by the hands of the cultivator. Though venomous serpents differ from each other in magnitude, and in some of their external characters; yet they all possess in common, cer- tain leading features by which they may be distinguished from the other classes which are not poisonous. In the venomous, the head is flattened, scaly, and large in proportion to the body ; the snout is rather broad ; the neck is thick ; the skin is of a dirty hue, and less variegated in its colour; and the body does not taper towards the tail in so fine a point. But the leading feature of dis- crimination is in the formation of the upper jaw; the venomous serpent having two, or more fangs attached to it, projecting out on each side beyond VEGETABLE POISONS. 161 the other teeth, with which they inflict their poisonous wounds. t These fangs have, at their base in the upper jaw, a very small sac or bag immediately at- tached, which serves as a receptacle to the poison that has been secreted by a glandular apparatus, situated at the back part of the head, and behind each ear, and which, by means of tubes or canals running through the roof of the mouth, is conveyed into the sac to be ready for use. The fang itself, to which the sac is attached, is tubular; having an orifice on its outward extremity large enough to admit of the fluid being ejected by the pres- sure of the surrounding muscles, when the ani- mal is excited to bite. The poison contained in the bag, is a yellowish, viscid, tasteless liquid, very small in quantity, which, injected into the blood vessels, proves frequently fatal ; but which may be taken into the mouth and stomach without any danger. In- deed it is a common practice with the viper catchers, to suck the wound when the bite has been inflicted ; and we have witnessed the same practice in the West Indies among the negroes when bitten by any venomous animal. When the sac is ruptured, (as may be effected by drawing the teeth of the animal,) the power of poisoning is destroyed ; and of this, the viper catchers avail themselves, by irritating the animal to seize a piece of cloth, which the viper grasps M ON ANIMAL AND so closely, as easily to admit of the tooth being extracted. In Bingley's Animal Biography, the name of a gentleman is mentioned, who saw a rattle snake in which the fangs had been extracted, that was so completely tamed, " that it would turn its back to be scratched with the same delight, that a cat displays when nibbed before a fire ; and would answer to the calls of the boys, and follow them like any other domesticated animal." In the same manner, the cobra de capella is tamed in India, and the viper in this country. The flesh of all these animals, so far from being poisonous, is extremely nutritive ; and among savage nations, is considered a great deli- cacy. 4< The American Indians regale on the rattle snake, and cook it as we do eels ; and the peccary, the vulture, and other ravenous birds feed on its flesh." The negroes in the West Indies often make snakes a part of their diet ; and the use of the viper has long been weH understood in this country. The Crotalus, or Rattle Snake, is peculiar to America, and is found in almost every part of it, from the Straits of Magellan to Lake Champlam on the borders of Canada. It reaches its greatest magnitude however, and assumes its most viru- lent character, in the warmer American latitudes ; where humidity mostly prevails, and where cul- tivation has made the least progress. It ia VEGETABLE POISONS. 163 distinguished from other serpents, by the number of its scales on the abdomen and the under sur- face of its tail ; in having a double set of poison- ous fangs ; and by the tail terminating in a large scaly appendage, consisting of several articulated horny processes, which move and make a rattling noise. The rattle snake is divided into five species, each differing in their external character, size, and malignancy ; of which the crotalus horridus is by far the largest and most formidable. They are all, like the viper, viviparous ; that is, they produce their young alive and completely formed, generally about twelve in number ; and like that animal also, they receive them into their mouth, when alarmed or threatened with danger. The Crotalus Horridus, or bandied Rattle Snake, is from five to eight feet in length, and its body is about the circumference of the human arm ; the back being of an orange tawny mixed with blue ; the belly of an ash colour inclining to the aspect of lead ; while the head is distinguished, by a scale, hanging like a pent-house over each eye. But the most curious part of its external confor- mation, is its tail, from which the animal derives its name. This consists of a kind of rattle, formed of a certain number of loosely connected joints or articulations, commencing when the animal is about three years old, and adding one each succeeding year; so that they generally M 2 164 ON ANIMAL AND / judge of its age, by the number of articulations of its tail, which, in some instances, have amounted to nearly forty. This apparatus, when taken from the tail, bears a resemblance to the curb chain of a bridle, and is composed of a certain number of thin, hard, hollow bones, loosely connected to each other; so that when the animal shakes its tail (which it always does when irritated and alarmed,) it produces a noise like a rattle. As this is to be heard at a considerable distance, it affords time for escape to those animals that otherwise might be in the greatest danger from its approach. This animal, however, never inflicts a wound upon man, excepting when trodden upon, or irritated ; but, on the contrary, flies from his advance whenever he finds the least chance of escaping ; and when we add to this circumstance, the precautions observed by the inhabitants, when engaged in the woods where these animals pre- vail ; it will easily be understood, why wounds, from the bite of a rattle snake, are not of very frequent occurrence. When, however, the animal is accidentally or intentionally irritated, it immediately throws itself into a circle, pushes back its head, and, with great rapidity and violence, injects its deadly poison into the object of its vengeance; and according to the degree of irritation, repeats its attack as often as its strength will allow. VEGETABLE POISONS. 165 The bite, at first, resembles the sting of the wasp or bee; but the parts rapidly swell, become livid, and extend to the body and head, followed by delirium, fainting fits, convulsions, general swelling and discoloration of the body, and death ; which takes place, in some instances, in three hours after the bite has been inflicted ; at other times, at more distant periods ; and if the weather has not been extremely hot, or the animal much enraged, the wounded man has a distant chance of recovery. The unfortunate carpenter, who, in consequence of irritating a rattle snake belonging to Womb- well's menagerie, was bitten in September, 1809, by one of these animals, survived the bite four- teen days ; when, after the unavailing efforts of the best medical advice, and after suffering ex- treme torture, he fell a sacrifice to his indiscre- tion early in the following October. This tardiness in the operation of the rattle snake poison, may be attributed to climate ; as we know that the whole of the snake tribe be- come torpid as the winter approaches, and that they increase in power and activity upon the temperature of the atmosphere advancing, when their bites become in proportion formidable and dangerous. Much also may depend upon a large blood-vessel being wounded, or only one of its extreme branches; the poison, in the former instance, being conveyed more rapidly into the M3 166 ON ANIMAL AND system than in the latter, when there may be time for its being so diluted as considerably to weaken its efficacy. This observation will apply to the bites of all venomous animals; and it will serve to explain, why we sometimes hear of very rapid effects being produced by treatment, and at other times, why the patient recovers even with- out the trial of any remedy. In Mr. Bingley's Animal Biography, we read of several experiments made with the poison of the rattle snake upon the dog species, as well as upon the body of the animal itself; by which it appears, " that a cur dog died from the bite of a rattle snake in a quarter of a minute ; another dog, which was bit in the ear, survived two hours; and two other dogs, as large as our bull dogs, which were bitten in the thigh, one died in half a minute, and the other in four minutes ; the first having received a wound in the inside, and the other on the outside of the thigh ; while the animal, by irritation, was made to bite itself, and died in ten minutes afterwards. The snake was then cut into five pieces, which successively were devoured by a hog, without receiving any injury in consequence." The same gentleman also related a circum- stance, which strongly evinces the great activity of the rattlesnake poison. " An American farmer was one day mowing with his negroes, when he by chance trod on VEGETABLE POISONS. 167 a rattle snake, that immediately turned upon him and bit his boot. At night, when he went to bed) he was attacked with sickness ; he swelled, and before a physician could be called in, he died. All his neighbours were surprised at the suddenness of his death ; but the corpse was buried without examination. A few days after, one of his sons put on his father's boots* and at night when he pulled them off, he was seized with the same symptoms, and died on the following morning. At the sale of the effects, a neighbour purchased the boots ; and on putting them on, experienced the like dreadful symptoms with the father and son, A skilful physician* however, being sent for, who had heard of the preceding affair, suspected the cause ; and by applying proper remedies recovered the patient. The fatal boots were now examined, and the two fangs of the snake were discovered to have been left in the leather with the poison bladder ad- hering to them. They had penetrated entirely through ; and both the father, the son, and the purchaser of the boots, had imperceptibly scratch- ed themselves with their points on pulling them off." The Cobra de Capello, or Hooded Serpent, to which are given the different appellations of coluber naja, spectacle serpent, and the like, is a native of the East Indies, and of South America; and is still a more formidable animal than the rattle 168 ON ANIMAL AND snake; as its bite is stated to be followed by certain and speedy death. A near relation of mine, who has passed many years in India, in- formed me that he has been witness to three per- sons being killed in seven minutes from its bite; and we have other instances of the rapidity of this most destructive poison when received into the human frame a circumstance not to be wonder- ed at, when we take into consideration the heat of the country of which it is a native ; though the effects of the poison, like that of the rattle snake, will no doubt be varied by season, and by the manner in which the bite be inflicted. This animal is from three to six feet in length, and about four inches in circumference. Its head is smaller in proportion to its body, than either the rattle snake or the viper; having on its neck, a tumor or loose mass of integument, flat and covered with scales, and on the top of it, a very conspicuous patch, resembling a pair of spectacles. Its colour is a pale rusty brown, and beneath, a bluish white tinged with yellow the tail, unlike the other serpents described, tapering to a slender sharply pointed extremity. Its eyes are pecu- liarly shining, fierce, and bright. Its fangs, with which it inflicts its deadly wound, are placed in the upper jaw, and their mechanism is the same as that of other venomous serpents. Like them it retreats before human pursuit; but, when irritated, it is much more active in its movements, VEGETABLE POISONS. 169 and more decided in its attacks. When pre- paring to assail its enemy, the body is erected, the head is bent down so as to admit of the in- teguments of the neck being extended over it in the form of a hood or cloak, from whence it derives its name ; when, opening its mouth, and exhibiting its poisonous fangs, it springs ou its enemy with the greatest agility and effect. Its bites, we have already stated, have a most deadly tendency, which has been fully illustrated by Mr. Boag, in the New Annual Register for 1800; though, from the causes we have noticed, in- stances are not wanting of persons recovering from them without the aid of #ny remedy. The greatest enemy to this serpent is the ichneumon, or mangoose weasel, which feeds upon snakes and other reptiles. When the ich- neumon falls in with the cobra de capello, the former takes every opportunity of provoking the first attack ; placing himself in an attitude the most favourable to slip on one side and seize the head of his antagonist, which most frequently produces instant death. But if it fail, he bites the animal's tail to make him rise again, when the second seizure generally proves successful. If bitten by the serpent, the weasel sucks the poison from the wound, and feeds upon a herb which, in India, is considered to be an antidote ; and thus escapes altogether the mortal effects 170 ON ANIMAL AND which other animals uniformly experience from the bite of this very formidable serpent. The poison, both of the rattle snake and of the cobra de capello, is collected and preserved by the untutored Indians for the purpose of arm- ing- their arrows ; and the consequences of the wounds they inflict, from an instrument so de- structive, may be easily anticipated. The food of these snakes is confined to birds, and to small animals. There are many other poisonous serpents of a very dangerous character to be met with in Ame- rica, in Africa, and in the East and West Indies; but as the two, we have noticed, may be consi- dered the most formidable, we have thought it sufficient to confine our observations to them ; more particularly as the symptoms which follow the bites of all such venomous animals, appear to be much the same, differing only in degree and consequences. Pain, swelling, discoloration of the parts af- fected ; an extension of these symptoms to those parts through which the poison has to pass on its way to the system, and an enlargement and dis- coloration of the whole body ; a small quick pulse, fainting fits, vomiting, jaundice, delirium, hiccup, and convulsions close the scene, and mark the fatal issue in those cases where speedy relief has not been obtained, or where the natural VEGETABLE POISONS. 171 resources of the constitution are not sufficient to resist the morbid effects of the poison. With respect to the treatment of these most formidable symptoms, when produced by the bite of the rattle snake, the cobra de capello, and of other foreign serpents, without experience, we can have little to offer but conjecture. From analogy, we should be disposed to treat them upon the same principle as we know to be suc- cessful in the bite of the viper the only veno- mous serpent to be met with in our country ; and which, if followed up with vigour and perseve- rance, we should entertain very little doubt of success, We are told of a variety of remedies, however, that are used in countries where these animals prevail ; but these are so opposite in their nature and tendency, that we hardly know how to attach importance to their efficacy. The serpentarii, or virginian snake root, and the seneka, or rattle snake root, are each used topically in the form of poultices, and given internally ; and have had the reputation in America of curing the bite of the rattle snake and of other American ser- pents. And the head of the animal bruised and laid upon the part affected, as well as the topical appli- cation of a paste prepared by the Indians, to which they have given the appellation of snake-stone, are also reputed specifics in such cases ; but we fear the efficacy of each is entitled to but little 172 ON ANIMAL AND credit. If applications can be of any avail in casualties so desperate, assiduous frictions of unctuous substances, but particularly of olive oil, or of equal parts of laudanum and volatile alkali over the parts affected, and full doses of carbonate of ammonia conjoined with antispas- rnodics administered internally and frequently repeated, from their uniform success in the bite of the viper, appear to be well calculated to pro- duce good effects, and are therefore well worthy of trial. Dr. Orfila, a French author, who has published a valuable treatise on poisons, has recommended the application of a ligature above the wounded part, so as to check the returning blood to the heart, without stopping the circulation ; and then to apply caustics, so as to destroy deeply the whole of the surrounding parts. His internal remedies are volatile alkali, wine, and active diaphoretics. In the second volume of the Medico Chirurgical Transactions, Mr. Ireland, then surgeon to the 60th. regiment, has given an account of four cases in which arsenic had been successfully adminis- tered internally for some very desperate bites from the Colubar Carinatus, a most venomous serpent, peculiar to the Island of St. Lucia, in the West Indies ; and from whose bites, an offi- cer and several men belonging to the 68th. regi- ment, had some months before fallen a sacrifice. VEGETABLE POISONS. 173 In the four successful cases to which he has alluded, from the flesh being much torn by the bites, he removed the rugged edges of the inte- guments, and administered two drachms of Fow- lers solution, (which is equal to one grain of arsenic,) in a draught composed of peppermint water and ten drops of laudanum; to which, when taken, half an ounce of lime juice was added, to produce the effervescent effect ; and this was repeated every half hour for four successive hours ; the parts being frequently fomented and rubbed with a liniment, composed of half an ounce of oil of turpentine, and an ounce and a half of olive oil. In a few days the patients recovered, and returned to their duty. He succeeded in another case at Martinique, where the patient was bitten by a serpent, reported to be as venomous and fatal as that at St. Lucia. Mr. Boag, who has had some experience in the bites of the cobra de capejlo, recommends a weak solution of the nitrate of silver to be assidu- ously applied to the part, and small doses of it to be given internally. Should, however, future experience decide upon the inefficacy of all these remedies ; in that case, the only security against the consequences of wounds so alarming, (if secu- rity is to be obtained,) would be a very deep extirpation of the surrounding parts, or the rapid extinction of the vital principle in them by the most active caustks. 174 ON ANIMAL AND The viper of Europe is the next venomous ser- pent for consideration. This animal is peculiarly distinguished for its tenacity of life, and for bearing an abstinence from food for many months without being materially injured. The former is illustrated by Dr. Houl- ston, in his Treatise on Poisons, wherein he men- tions, " that he placed a viper in the lowest part of the Grotto del Cana, near Naples, which is distinguished for its giving out the carbonic acid gas, or fixed air, well known to be fatal to all animals brought within its influence. The viper soon shewed manifest signs of being incom- moded. It endeavoured to get to the walls, and being prevented, raised up its head as high as it was able, opened its jaws wide, seeming to gasp for breath, and after remaining nine minutes, be- came motionless ; but thrown into the open air, soon recovered its former activity and vigour. In this cave, a dog is killed in four minutes, and smaller animals almost instantaneously." As a proof of its long retention of life without food, we need only advert to the practice of the viper catchers, who confine the serpents in boxes for weeks, if not months together, without supplying them with nourishment. The Coluber Berus, or Common Viper, seldom exceeds in length two, though occasionally they have been found as long as three or four, feet. Their circumference, in their thickest part, may VEGETABLE POISONS. 175 be considered something less than an inch. They possess two poisonous fangs on each side in the upper jaw, and an apparatus for preparing the poison exactly similar to that of the rattle snake and cobra de capello already described ; and like them, they are viviparous, that is, they pro- duce their young alive contrary to the common innocuous serpents, which are oviparous ; the latter depositing their eggs in warm sheltered situations to be afterwards hatched by the sun, and this forms a leading discrimination be- tween the two descriptions of serpents. The other distinguishing marks, are the form of the head, of the jaw bone, and of the teeth, the shape of the body and tail, and colour of the skin. The head of the viper is large in proportion to the body, and of rather a triangular form, the apex or snout being more flattened than the common snake. The jaw bone is also different : in the upper jaw of the viper, there are only two rows of common teeth, but from these, two poisonous fangs hang out, which are their principal instru- ments of attack and defence ; while the innocu- ous serpent has no fangs, their place being sup- plied by three rows of teeth in the upper jaw, of which they make the same use as other animals ; -by merely biting their prey without poisoning it. In the viper, the body is shorter in proportion, and it does not taper off towards the tail in that fine point which is a leading feature in the com- 176 ON ANIMAL AND toon serpent ; by which it may be always known from those that are venomous. The colour of the skin is also another mark of discrimination ; that of the viper consisting of a very dirty brown- ish yellow, being marked on the back by black rhomboidal spots, and on the sides by triangular ones, which uniting form upon the belly, one black surface ; while the skins of the common snake, are often vivid in the extreme, very varie- gated, and frequently distinguished by beautiful stripes. Though the viper is partial to a dry, stony, or chalky soil, yet it is occasionally to be met with in all soils and situations which affords it a slight shelter ; its motions being much slower than the common snake. It lives principally upon insects and small birds ; and never attacks larger ani- mals but when trodden upon, or irritated. Like the rattle snake, the female receives its young ones into its mouth upon the approach of an enemy ; and it is surprising what a number it vt ill accommodate in this way, when its offspring is in danger. The ancient inhabitants of Europe collected the poison of the viper for the purpose of arming their arrows, when called upon by necessity to oppose the common enemy, or when urged by ambition or by revenge to make an attack upon their neighbours ; as is the practice now among savage nations of other countries, in whom cruelty is considered no crime, and revenge VEGETABLE POISONS. 177 one of the sweetest attributes of nature. Fortu* nately at the present day, Europe is more en- lightened ; and had the propensity continued, the means of indulgence have been so gradually diminished by the advance of agriculture and general cultivation, that the only venomous ser- pents to which we are exposed, will in a few years become extinct. The flesh of the viper, from containing a large ' proportion of gelatine, was formerly in great reputation for pulmonary consumption, and for other diseases in which a restorative diet of easy assimilation was considered of use. Why it came to fail in the first most fatal of all maladies, no physician of any experience will be at a loss to decide. But that it should not be adopted in other diseases of debility which admit of being alleviated by a very nutritive diet, is a circum- stance which can only be attributed to the caprice and uncertainty of all human practices, from which it could not be expected that our profes- sion, enlightened as we must admit it. to be, should be altogether exempt. The viper, like the rattle snake and other venomous serpents, seldom makes its attacks upon man unless irritated by pressure or some other cause. Their bite, as to its depth and repetition, will be regulated by the degree of irritation, by the season of the year, and by the state of the health of the animal. The effects, in N 178 ON ANIMAL AND consequence, vary much in different individuals 1 . Should the bite be confined to the external branches of the arteries, though severe, it it pro- bable, the effects will be local only. Should it penetrate deeper, so as to wound a larger vessel, unless a remedy be speedily applied, the proba- bility is, that the poison will reach the system, and produce a very distressing train of symptoms which in young subjects may terminate in death : a circumstance, however, not of very frequent occurrence in this, and in the other cooler lati- tudes of Europe. The symptoms produced by the bite of the viper, are, in the first instance, similar to those occasioned by the sting of a wasp, or bee : the part becomes immediately inflamed, feels hot, is swollen and extremely painful. The colour of the affected part soon changes from a deep red, to a dirty yellow ; which, with the swelling and pain, by degrees extend over a very consider- able surface, following the course of the vessels towards the heart ; and these symptoms, if not removed, are succeeded by fainting fits, a quick weak puke, considerable nausea, bilious vomit- ing, and when it proves fatal, by jaundice, a swelling and livid appearance of the whole body, delirium, convulsions, and death. In the course of my practice, I have had an opportunity of seeing three persons who had been wounded by the viper, and these were all children. , - VEGETABLE POISONS. 179 In the two first, the local train of symptoms, though varyingin each in degree, were so checked by the remedies applied, as to prevent the occur- rence of what we have described as constituting the secondary symptoms. But in the third child, in consequence of very late application for assist- ance, the secondary symptoms (though ultimately removed by internal remedies,) had made great progress, and nearly terminated in the death of the patient. The bite of the viper is to be treated upon the same principle as that of any other venomous serpent, as the effects in each differ only in degree. But as the viperine poison is much less active than that of the rattle snake, or the cobra de capello, we need not have recourse to those violent remedies, which according to our present view of the subject, we consider to be necessary in the other instances. The viper catchers find a perfect security, when bitten, in an assiduous application of the fat of the animal to the part affected ; a proportion of which they always keep in readiness against such accidents. This has led to the successful trial of olive oil warmed, so as to be readily ab- sorbed by the wound, which is to be rubbed over the whole of the surrounding surface, until ease be obtained, and the swelling and inflammation have subsided ; or until the patient can be con- sidered to be completely out of clanger. This * 2 180 ON ANIMAL AND remedy, when applied in time, has been never known lo fail. We may, however mention, that equal parts of liquid volatile alkali and laudanum, and the eau de luce or volatile spirits of amber, have each been used, as we understand, with success; arid that Dr. Orfila, in his Treatise on Poisons, recommends one part of liquid volatile alkali to be added to two parts of olive oil, and to be applied to the part affected in similar acci- dents. Should the disease advance, and the secondary symptoms supervene, then these appli- cations are to be extended over the whole body ; and the volatile alkali combined with the oil of amber, the eau de luce, or some other powerful antispasmodic, is to be speedily administered internally, assisted by wine, and by every means that will support the system, determine to the skin, and keep up the action of the vessels. In the worst case to which we have alluded as coming under my own observation, the carbonate of ammonia in a draught combined with the oil of amber (of which ten grains of the former and ten drops of the latter may be considered a dose for an adult,) was administered every four or six hours as circumstances indicated. The effect was a profuse perspiration, and a speedy relief of the most distressing symptoms. The celebrated Fontana, who has directed so much of his attention to the natural history of venomous animals, has presented us with a VEGETABLE POISONS. 181 variety of experiments to prove, that the poison of the viper and of other venomous serpents, is neither an acid, au alkali, an astringent, nor a neutral salt ; but an animal gum resembling in its neutral and chemical properties the common gum arable. But as the latter gum, when applied to a wound, is perfectly inoffensive, the poison must possess some secret property that imparts to it the power of destroying the vital principle, which this philosopher has not yet discovered. He further states, that if rubbed on the tongue, within the lips, over the internal membrane of the nostril, or even on the external coat of the eye, the poison produces no irritation or bad effect whatever; and that it may be swallowed in pretty large proportions with perfect impunity ; but that applied to the slightest scratch or wound, i inflammation immediately succeeds, and the sys- tem is rapidly affected. That it proves fatal, not by increased action of the arterial circulation, but by destroying the irritability of the muscular fibre, and disposing both solids and fluids to a rapid decomposition. We come now to the consideration of venomous insects, of which I shall select a few of the most offensive in foreign countries, and conclude with those that are more familiarly known to us at home. The Tarantula, of the fatal effects of whose poison, and of the influence of music in the cure, 182 ON ANIMAL AND so much has been said, is of the spider tribe, possessing, in most particulars, all the characters peculiar to thai species of insect. It is a native of Italy, Cyprus, Barbary, and the East Indies : in the two former countries credulity on the one hand, and imposition on the other, have given it a quality which it does not merit; viz. the power of destroying human life by its bite, unless timely prevented by the most fasci- nating music. Accordingly, travellers in those countries have furnished us with a number of amusing anecdotes, strongly illustrative of the effects of superstition on the human mind, when unenlightened by the beams of science, or where tradition has closed the door to reason and the most obvious conviction. These anecdotes, which must be familiar to every reading person, we do not deem necessary here to detail ; but shall merely observe, that the bite of the tarantula is never inflicted but when accidentally irritated; and though it always produces most severe pain, swelling, and discoloration of the part, and in constitutions of particular irritability, fainting fits, spasmodic affections, and even convulsions; yet it has in no instance, within my experience, (founded upon a four years' residence in the south part of Europe and in Barbary,) proved fatal ; nor could I learn from others, that such an effect was ever produced ; the symptoms being readily removed by the remedies, which I shall VEGETABLE POISONS. 183 hereafter describe as being efficacious in the bites or stings of other venomous insects. This animal, which, like other spiders, is made up of two divisions united by a slender thread, the one consisting of the head and breast, the other of the belly, rather exceeds an inch in length, and is of an ash colour on its breast, belly, and legs, and underneath is distinguished by blackish rings. It has eight legs united like that of a lobster ; and eight eyes, two of which are red, are larger than the others, and are placed in front; four others are placed transversely to- wards the mouth ; the other two are nearer the back. This number of eyes seems necessary in an animal whose existence depends upon its activity and vigilance ; and particularly as the eyes are immoveable in the socket, and therefore cannot, when required, turn in different directions. Its poisonous mechanism consists of two nip- pers or fangs on the fore part of the head with strong points, toothed like a saw, and terminating in claws like those of a cat. A little below the point of the claw, there is a small hole through which the animal emits the poison ; and from this apparatus, its means of attack and defence are derived. It is stated to prefer the bare fields for its haunts, where the lands are fallow ; but I have seen it near houses, and within the yards, and sometimes even in the adjoining apartments. 184 ON ANIMAL AND According to Bingley, it lays between seven and eight hundred eggs, which are hatched in the spring; the parents being very short-lived, and seldom surviving the winter. Like other spiders, it makes a net or wall round its dwelling, which is generally about four inches deep in the ground, and half an inch wide. All the spider tribes possess poisonous fangs, with which they kill their prey ; and in South America, some of the species are very large and appaling in their aspect, and will destroy even small birds. But with the exception of the taran- tula, the bite of the spider has little or no effect on the human constitution ; though its external appearance, and the prejudices of early educa- tion, have stamped on it a character for viru- lence, which it does not merit. The Scorpion is an animal of a very different description from the tarantula ; it bearing a nearer resemblance to a very small lobster, or river cray fish, than to any other of the insect tribe, most of which it exceeds in size and virulence. This animal is to be met with in southern Europe, the opposite coast of Barbary and other parts of Africa, and in the East and West Indies ; its haunts being principally about old buildings, or under detached bricks and stones. It occa- sionally makes its way into inhabited houses, which renders their inmates liable to accidents VEGETABLE POISONS. 185 of a very painful and troublesome nature, though they very rarely end with the loss of life. The leading external character of the scorpion, is eight legs, two claws resembling those of the crab, four eyes, a head as it were jointed to the breast, and a tail composed of six joints, which are bristly and appear like globules ; the last joint being armed with a crooked sting, the fatal intrument that renders this animal so formidable. The sting is long, pointed, hard, and hollow. It is pierced near the base by two small holes, through which, when the animal stings, it ejects a drop of poison, which is white, caustic, and powerfully active. It is very impatient under confinement, and extremely irritable ; so that the least touch will cause it to sting the offend- ing substance with its whole force. It is also naturally bold and watchful, and seldom retreats from its enemy ; but with its tail erect, and sting in readiness, it waits an attack with courage and intrepidity ; and if not destroyed in the conflict, rarely desists, until it has killed its enemy, or put it to flight. The Scorpion, according to Mr. Bingley, in the East Indies, is sometimes a foot in length, and as bulky as a lobster ; and con- cealing itself under the furniture, it renders a removal of articles of that description a matter of some danger. The Scolopendra or Centipede, so denominated from possessing a number of legs, is a native of 18(5 ON ANIMAL AND the East and West Indies, and of various parts of Africa, and, next to the scorpion, is the most venomous in the insect tribe ; inhabiting chiefly the woods, where it is preyed upon by the dif- ferent species of snakes. It is, however, to be found sometimes under pieces of stone, or within hollow pieces of wood, and even in houses; and is said to be so common in particular districts, as to oblige the inhabitants to have the feet of their bedsteads placed in vessels of water, to prevent their being annoyed during the night by these offensive animals. Its colour varies from a reddish brown to a livid yellow, tinged with red ; its body being long, depressed, and consisting of numerous transverse segments, on each side of which there is a leg; so that there are as many legs on each side as there are segments. Its length varies from jthree to six or eight inches ; its legs terminating in one sharp hook or nail of a shining black colour; all of which are said to be venomous. But its most formida- ble weapons, are two sharpened or hooked in- struments, that are placed under the mouth ; at the extremity of each of which, there is a small opening, from which extends a tube for the poi- sonous fluid to be conveyed into the wound inflicted by its fangs. It has eight very small eyes, four on each side of the head near the an- tennae ; and the number of the segments of the VEGETABLE POISONS. 187 body and the legs increase with its age. Its poison, (though very active, and productive of extremely distressing symptoms,) is not so injurious as that of the scorpion ; and is only fatal to the smaller class of animals. A fly is instantaneously killed by its bite ; and in dogs and in brute animals of the larger description, its wounds leave a rancorous sore of many weeks continuance. St. Pierre, in his Voyage to the Isle of France, observed this animal overcome by a flight of ants, which attacked it in conjunction; and after seizing it by all its legs, triumphantly bore the body along, as workmen would have done a large piece of timber. With the hornet, the bee, and the wasp, and the stings which they inflict, you must be too familiar, to render it necessary for me to enter into their natural history. I shall therefore briefly observe, that the sting of these insects is composed of three parts the sheath and two darts, which are extremely small and penetrating. Each of these darts has two small points, or barbs like fish hooks ; which render the sting more painful, and cause the dart to rankle in the wound. The sheath, which has a sharp point, makes the first impression, which is followed by that of the darts ; and from these, the venomous liquor is ejected into the wound, to which the sheath sometimes sticks so fast, that the animal is obliged to leave it behind ; adding much to the 188 ON ANIMAL AND inflammation of the part; though such wounds are seldom attended with any serious conse- quences. There are a few other smaller insects, particu- larly among the fly, gnat, and ant tribes, that may be considered venomous ; and whose bites or sting, cause great irritation and inconvenience to the human subject, more especially in warm cli- mates. Among these, the tropical gnat, or mos- quito, and the fire ant of South America, take the lead. The mosquito prevails in overwhelming proportions upon the sea coast, and in the vici- nity of lagoons, low woods, and swamps in all countries within a few degrees of the equator; and prove an unfailing source of discomfiture, pain, and disfigurement to such Europeans, more especially if strangers, who happen to reside within their reach ; rendering too often unavail- ing the active measures usually adopted to guard against their bites. The fire ant is to be met with in Africa, but in the largest proportions in South America. This insect has been particularly noticed by Captain Stedman, in his Travels in Surinam. He says, "these insects are black and very diminutive; but live in such amazing multitudes together, that their hillocks have sometimes obstructed our passage by their size ; over which if one chances to pass, the feet and Jegs are instantly covered with swarms of these creatures, which seize the VEGETABLE POISONS. 189 skin with such violence in their pincers, that they will sooner suffer their head to be parted from their body, than let go their hold." The burning pain, which they occasion, cannot, in his opinion, proceed from the sharpness of their pincers only ; but must be owing to some venomous fluid which they infuse, or which the wound imbibes from them. " I can aver," says he, " that I have seen them make a whole company hop about, as if they had been scalded by boiling water/' The treatment of the wounds inflicted by all the insect tribe which are venomous, requires very little variation from that recommended for the bite of the viper. Simple olive oil carefully rubbed into the part affected, olive oil to which a third part of liquid volatile alkali has been added, equal parts of laudanum and volatile alkali, and the volatile spirit of amber or eau du luce, have each in their turn produced the best effect; or where more than ordinary symptoms have occur- red, the carbonate of ammonia and oil of amber administered internally, as recommended in the bite of the viper, have seldom failed to afford relief. We come now to a description of a disease, the most fatal and the most formidable of any to which human nature is liable we allude to Hydrophobia, as produced by the bite of a rabid animal, most frequently the dog. It fortunately however happens, that though we do not unfre- 190 ON ANIMAL AND quently hear of dogs and of other animals be- coming rabid, or of individuals being bitten by such animals, yet hydrophobia in the human species is a very rare disease ; insomuch that many physicians, of very high reputation and of most extensive practice, have closed a long life without once witnessing its symptoms ; among whom may be mentioned the celebrated Dr. Cul- len of Edinburgh, Dr. William Heberden senior, of London, and others whose names do not im* mediately recur to us. But as the disease is always liable to happen after the bite of a rabid animal, it is highly important that we be ac- quainted with its character, and with the means we possess of guarding against its consequences. Hydrophobia, which is derived from two Greek words, that combined, signify a dread of water, is a term that does not convey a clear idea of the disease on which we now propose to treat. Since it merely refers to one single symptom, in which the patient has no aversion to water, but on the contrary, from his extreme thirst, he has a most anxious wish to indulge in its use ; but in conse- quence of the muscles concerned in deglutition, being painfully affected, which renders swallow- ing a matter of great difficulty, and of fluid arti* cles when swallowed, occasioning a greater ac- tion in those muscles, then such as are solid ; the dread of the patient arises from the association naturally produced, when water, or any other VEGETABLE POISONS. 191 fluid, is brought within his observation; and this instinctively leads to an anxiety, amounting to a command, to have such articles immediately re- moved from his sight, though most frequently at a time when he feels the greatest desire to allay his thirst by their use. As the designation, however, is familiarly understood to imply that disease which more usually is produced by the bite of a rabid animal, and as we have no better appellation to propose, we must shelter ourselves under the privilege of custom in continuing a term, which, in a scientific point of view, our judgment condemns as incorrect. There is no disease to which the human frame is subject, in which the early and subsequent symptoms have been so various, or the time of approach so uncertain, as that of hydrophobia. This renders an accurate description of some difficulty, and leaves us no other choice but that of a general delineation of a disease which is only to be known by actual observation. The fol- lowing, however, may serve to point out perhaps its leading features, so as to admit of its being recognized, should you fall in with a malady of so formidable and so fatal an aspect. At an uncertain period after the bite has been inflicted, sometimes in a few days, more frequently in about five or six weeks, seldom exceeding as many months, and still more unu&ual at so great a distance as a twelvemonth, the person feels a renewed uneasiness and pricking pain in the viei- ON ANIMAL AND nity of the part where the wound had been in- flicted ; which not unfrequently is followed by swelling and inflammation immediately round the citatrix or scab, if the wound had been previously healed, which in most instances is the case ; the cicatrix becoming elevated, hard, and extremely painful. This pain extends to all the surrounding muscles ; and, following the course of the absorb- ents, it advances towards the trunk. If the wound has not healed, it increases in size and inflam- mation upon the approach of the hydrophobial symptoms, and becomes a painful and rancorous ulcer. Upon other occasions, all the symptoms have been ushered in without any local irritation, the cicatrix remaining unaltered to the last, and in some instances has been entirely obliterated. A general indisposition, loss of appetite, lan- guor, a timid anxiety about the nature of the malady which is often attributed to the wrong cause, disturbed sleep, frightful dreams, frequent sighing, an uneasy sensation about the praecordia, and other symptoms similar to the first attack of low nervous fever, mark the commencement of this most lamentable malady; and which, on some occasions, have continued several days be- fore the real disease has been identified. At other times, the unequivocal symptoms of hydro- phobia have come on at once, without any previ- ous indisposition ; and in that case, they have been ascertained by the early occurrence of the VEGETABLE POISONS. 193 following symptoms; namely, a spasmodic affec- tion of the muscles generally, and of the throat in particular a great horror at the sight of water, or of any other fluid, or indeed of any article which is likely to associate with it the idea of swallow- ing considerable agitation upon the air of the room being put in motion, or upon the least move- ment and increased noise in the chamber a strong aversion to light bilious vomiting great thirst and desire to drink, but immediately con- vulsed upon the least attempt to swallow fever- ish heat of the skin with a furred tongue and a quick, small, and weak pulse. With these symp- toms, the patient is perfectly sensible, and is con- formable to instructions, even naming the articles of drink and diet he wishes to have, though the attempt to swallow, throws the whole frame into the most agonizing convulsions ; while the mental anxiety about the consequences advances with the progress of the disease, and is a leading feature as long as consciousness remains. In a few hours, all these symptoms become increased. More or less of delirium has commenced with occasional raving, and sometimes screaming ; and which, combined with the aridity of the throat, and hoarseness of the voice, convey, with a little help of the imagination, the idea of barking. Yet with all these untoward symptoms, the patient seldom entirely loses his reason, or a consciousness of his situation; and has generally o 194 ON ANIMAL AND a confused recollection of the persons about him. In this stage of the disease, his tongue is dry, rough, and swelled, and frequently is seen hang- ing out of the mouth his throat is arid, hoarse, and sonorous his eyes red, fierce, and pro- tuding an immense excretion of viscid saliva passes out of the mouth, which the patient in the last stage sometimes endeavours to eject upon his attendants, and sometimes he attempts to bite those immediately within his reach, thence re- quiring personal constraint upon his actions frequent convulsions, which frightfully distort the features, and give a most appaling aspect to the countenance, now very soon supervene ; and in this state, between delirium and returning reason, the afflicted object is released from his sufferings by an overwhelming fit, or by an exhaustion of the vital powers ; the disease, when completely formed, frequently terminating its fatal course within the short period of forty-eight hours. This is only to be considered as one form of a disease, which, as previously intimated, is seldom seen in two individuals exactly alike. Its dis- tinguishing features, however, are pretty uniformly present in all instances ; namely in the early stage, great depression of spirits and an alarm about the consequences, anxiety and pain about the praecordia, spasmodic affection of the mus- cles; and as the disease advances, convulsions at the sight of fluids, and great dread of swallowing VEGETABLE POISONS. 195 any kind of substance, considerable excretion of viscid saliva from the mouth, incipient delirium, and such a marked peculiarity of countenance, as cannot well be mistaken. The appearance on dissection of the human subject, as well as of brute animals which have died of this disease, are as various in different individuals as the symptoms ; sometimes pre- senting an inflammation of the trachea or wind- pipe, commencing at the epiglottis, with a deter- mination of blood to the lungs ^sometimes an inflammation of the tongue and fauces, extending through the gullet, to the internal coat of the stomach and small intestines occasionally an inflammation of the membranes of the brain, with some effusion into its cavities ; and in many instances, no organ has appeared affected that could at all account for the disease. 1 was present at the examination of two per- sons who had died of hydrophobia; one at the London Hospital, the other at the anatomical theatre, Great Windmill Street; in neither of which did we trace any appearances that could explain the phenomena of the disease ; and as this has happened in some other instances, it would lead us to hope, that hereafter some remedy may be discovered which, applied vigorously at the first approach of the symptoms, may arrest their progress, and thus preserve the life of the patient. The cause of this most lamentable of all dis- o 2 196 ON ANIMAL AND eases, in most instances, is the introduction of the saliva of a rabid animal, most frequently the dog, into a wound inflicted by its bite ; which, being absorbed and conveyed into the blood vessels, produces the train of symptoms we have described. It has occasionally happened how- ever, that a similar disease to hydrophobia has occurred in the human subject, where no bite could be traced to any animal whatever. In that case, it has been denominated spontaneous hydrophobia ; and when we add to these facts the circumstance, of only one, out of about thirty, being seized with the disease who have been bitten by dogs supposed to be rabid; it exemplifies in a striking degree our ignorance of its causes, and what a wide field is still open for discovery upon a subject, in which the interests of humanity are so deeply concerned. Again, we are as unacquainted with the cause of the dog species being so peculiarly liable to this disease, as we are with the manner in which it produces its effects, on the human constitution ; or whether, in the dog, it is spontaneously produced, or is communicated by contagion only, or whether it depends upon particular habits, modes of diet, or certain pri- vations, or upon an especial constitution of the atmosphere. All that we know is, that it appears more frequently in some seasons than in others ; that it is not confined to hot or cold weather, though the extremes of temperature are more VEGETABLE POISONS. 197 favourable to its production ; that it is equally observable in the East Indies and America as in Europe; though Syria, Egypt, the states of Barbary, the Cape of Good Hope, and the West Indian Islands, from causes which we cannot explain, have hitherto, with very few exceptions, escaped its invasion ; and that in whatever coun- try it has appeared, the prospect of cure has been equally hopeless. Remedies, from time immemorial, have been handed down to us as certain specifics for the prevention of hydrophobia ; and which, from the few instances of that disease following the bite of a dog supposed to be rabid, and from the difficulty often in ascertaining whether the dog really were rabid or not, have for a considerable time preserved a reputation, which subsequent experience has proved, they have not merited. Among these may be first mentioned, the Orm- shirk powder, the leading ingredient of which is chalk, introduced under the supposition of the poison being an acid, which such an absorbent is calculated to neutralize. This remedy, which repeated trials have proved to be perfectly ineffi- cacious, has had a long run, and is hardly out of use at the present day. The next is the Tonquin powder, an Asiatic remedy, composed of red sulphuret of mercury and musk, two very powerful ingredients, which 198 ON ANIMAL AND are stated to be efficacious in the climate in which they are administered, but of the infallible effects of which, we have had no certain confir- mation. The third is the Carnatic or Tanjore pill, an East India preparation, in which arsenic, mer- cury, and some Asiatic vegetables with which we are not acquainted, take the lead. The fourth. Sea bathing, amounting almost to drowning. The fifth. Mercurial frictions, so as to produce an active ptyalism to be long continued. The sixth. Scarifications of the parts followed by the actual cautery, or by strong caustic appli- cations well rubbed in ; or the destruction of the part by caustics, and then keeping up the irrita- tion by strong mineral solutions. The seventh. Extirpation of the part, and keep- ing up a discharge by active applications. The eighth and last. Tying a ligature above the wounded part to retard the return of the blood to the heart, and then to destroy the part by caustics. In the treatment of the disease itself, when it actually takes place, we are still at a greater loss how to proceed ; and its symptoms too often advance with wonderful rapidity, unchecked by our feeble efforts, and setting all medical skill and ingenuity at complete defiance. Cases however are upon record, in which recovery has followed the attack ; but these are so few, VEGETABLE POISONS. 199 and the treatment of each so contradictory, that we hardly know how to place confidence in the means adopted. As it may be useful to know the marks by which a rabid dog may be distinguished, we shall conclude our observations on hydrophobia, by introducing an extract from the work of Dr. Orfila, a French author, who, as we have already noticed, has published a valuable treatise on poisons. " According to Messrs. Enaux and Chaussier, the disease begins by the dog being languid, and more dull than ordinary. He seeks for obscurity, remains in a corner, and ceases to bark ; but growls excessively at strangers, and that without any apparent cause. He refuses food and drink. His walk becomes vascillating, like that of a person almost asleep. After two or three days, or in the second stage, he walks like a drunkard, and frequently falls. His hair stands erect; his eyes fixed and haggard his head hangs down his mouth is wide open, and contains much frothy saliva the tongue is protruded, and tail turned inwards. He avoids water, which appears to redouble his distress. He suffers from time to time an increase of fury, and endeavours to bite every object, not excepting his master. The light and vivid colours augment his distress. At the end of thirty or thirty-six hours, after the latter appearances, or from the commencement of the 200 ON ANIMAL AND second stage, he dies in convulsions. The dead body putrifies in the most rapid manner, and dif- fuses a most infectious odour. It ought not to be left exposed above ground, lest it should be eaten by other animals, which might in conse- quence become mad also. The hole into which the body is put, should be very deep, and every part of the place should be well washed with lime water ; and all the vessels, from which he took his food, should be destroyed. The person, who touches his body, should be well washed with vinegar." Since our work has been sent to the press, we have had an opportunity of perusing the very excellent treatise on Canine Pathology of our friend, Mr. Blaine, and of conversing with him frequently on rabies. By that gentleman we have been informed, that in all the instances of the disease which have come under his observation, (and these have been upon the most comprehen- sive scale,) he has uniformly traced the cause of the malady to the contagious bite of another rabid animal, and not to a spontaneous origin. That consequently its appearance has not depended upon season, the abstraction of water, improper diet, confinement, or any other of the usually attributed causes ; but that particular states of the weather, and other sources of constitutional excitement, seemed considerably to hasten its VEGETABLE POISONS. 201 attack. And that its occurrence has never failed to be prevented, whether in the human subject or in the brute animal, provided the wounded part be judiciously excised, or cauterized (the cautery Mr. Blaine seems to prefer,) at any period prior to the second inflammation of the wound. Mr. Blaine has further communicated to us, that the drinking of water, and the absence of a mischievous disposition on the part of the sus- pected animal, are most erroneous and dangerous tests of security ; since he has repeatedly seen both the one and the other occur, in animals which have been labouring under the most active forms of the disease. But that you may be in possession of the whole of the facts upon this very interesting subject, which Mr. Blaine in his publication has so ably and scientifically detailed ; I cannot conclude my lecture better, than by recommending to your perusal a work, which is universally admitted to contain the best (as it certainly is the most accredited) account of canine pathology, of any we at present possess. LECTURE IV. ON ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE POISONS. (Concluded.) HAVING submitted to you at our last meeting, such observations as I had to offer upon those poisons which produce their effects by being in- troduced into the blood vessels from the bites or stings of venomous animals, we are next led to treat upon those substances which act upon the system through the medium of the stomach ; of which I have selected poisonous fish and vege- table poisons, for this day's consideration. But as previously it may be useful to possess some general knowledge of the organs upon which the deleterious articles, about to be described, pro- duce their first effect, I shall, in terms, as concise and as familiar as the nature of the subject will admit, endeavour to explain to you their structure and uses. It will be necessary to premise, that there is one grand intestinal canal, through the agency of which, the food is conveyed, digested, and converted into chyle or nutriment for the supply VEGETABLE POISONS. 203 of the waste constantly taking place in the animal body. The first part of this tube has been deno- minated the pharynx; which commences from the back of the mouth, and passing behind the larynx or commencement of the wind-pipe, soon terminates in the second part, or continuation of the tube called the esophagus or gullet: which preserves that name until it reaches the upper portion of the abdomen, and then forms the stomach; immediately below which, the intestines (being still an elongation of the same canal,) com- mence, filling up the middle and lower portions of the abdomen. The pharynx and aesophagus perform no other part, but that of receiving the food which has already undergone a partial preparation in the mouth by mastication and admixture with the saliva, and of propelling it into the stomach, where it is retained, until it has been digested ; that is, until it has been intermixed with a secretion from that organ termed the gastric juice, and so churned (if we may use the expression) by the action of the stomach, the diaphragm or midriff, and of the abdominal muscles, as to be reduced to a fine, soft, homogeneous pulp, termed the chyme ; in which state it excites the muscles of the sto- mach to force it into the upper part of the intes- tines, where it meets with the bile from the gall bladder and liver, and with a secreted fluid from the pancreas. By the chemical operation of 204 ON ANIMAL AND these two fluids, the chyle, or nutritive part, is separated from that which is feculent and super- fluous ; and being absorbed and conveyed into the blood, serves to supply the waste which the secretions, and other operations in the animal economy, are uniformly occasioning. This tube, which throughout is supplied with blood vessels, nerves, glands, and absorbents, has three coats the outer of which is membra- nous, serving as an external covering ; the second, or middle coat is muscular, by which the actions of the tube are produced ; and the third or inter- nal is villous, that is fibrous and velvet like, in which is the apparatus that separates the fluid (more especially in the stomach,) so essential to the process of digestion. The stomach, though forming part of the same tube, differs from the other portions of it, in its shape, situation, and capacity ; in the number and arrangement of its muscular fibres ; in pos- sessing a much larger and a far more active expansion of nervous membrane by which it sympathizes directly with many other important organs ; in an apparatus for the preparation of the gastric juice, the grand menstruum of diges- tion, and, by laying horizontally, in being the receptacle and the chief source of action of every thing that passes from the mouth into the tube. We cannot, therefore, be surprised, that any great injury done to this organ, should so fre- VEGETABLE POISONS. 205 quently be productive of dangerous and the most serious consequences to the animal frame in general ; though, as upon a former occasion, we have observed, very extraordinary liberties are frequently taken with it, the operation of which it possesses, in many instances, a wonderful power of resisting, and of still preserving its healthy functions to a very late period of life. We have deemed it necessary to trouble you with this short account of the grand intestinal canal, because when poison has been received into the stomach, there is no part of the tube, which does not organically or sympathetically partake of the injury ; and you will the more readily understand how in such instances the more distant organs become affected, and what are the morbid appearances likely to be pre- sented upon dissection, when cases of poisoning become the subject of judicial investigation. Should we have been so fortunate as to have made ourselves clearly understood in this very brief account of the structure and functions of the digestive organs, we may with advantage commence our observations upon those poisons which produce their effect on the animal system by being previously received into the stomach. These substances, which are derived from the animal, the vegetable and the mineral kingdoms, act very variously upon different individuals, and upon different animals ; indeed so much so, that 206 ON ANIMAL AND in some animals, the smallest proportions are pro- ductive of the most baneful consequences, while in others, they are taken with impunity ; and many of the vegetable tribes in particular, which, in their natural state, are the most active poisons, by culinary and other processes, are rendered a luxurious, and nutritive diet. This circumstance serves to confirm an observation made in a former paper, that none of the substances denominated poisons, are without their use in the arts, in medi- cine, or in domestic economy. In the animal kingdom, many of the fish tribe, which have a direct poisonous effect upon some individuals, may betaken by others with impunity ; and many substances are eaten by quadrupeds and birds, which are uniformly poisonous to man ; while particular articles which are favour- able to the human constitution, prove immediately destructive to the brute species. Aloes, which, to man, is an useful drug, has been found to kill dogs and foxes ; and the sweet almond, one of the luxuries of our table, is poison to cats. The phellandrinm aquaticum, or water fennel, while it is fatal to horses, is eaten greedily by oxen. The bird pepper, from which cayenne is prepared, and which is only used in the smallest proportions as a condiment by the human subject, forms the principal article of food to the wild parrot, which picks out the seeds that are the strongest in preference to every VEGETABLE POISONS. 207 other; as I have often witnessed in the West Indies. The land crab of St. Domingo feeds on the leaves of the manchineel tree, which, to every other animal, is an active poison ; and many other illustrations might be offered in confirma- tion of the variable operation of the vegetable poisons upon different animals. The articles, therefore, which uniformly are destructive of animal life, are very limited indeed ; though the human subject appears to be suscep- tible of the operation of an extensive range of substances, from which most of the brute species are more or less exempt. Having submitted these general observations on the comparative effect of poison upon the animal frame, when received into the stomach, we shall be the better prepared to treat upon particular poisons, commencing with animal sub- stances; of which the Lytta Vesicatoria, cantharis, or, in more familiar language, the Spanish fly, shall be the first for consideration. This animal is a native of the southern parts of Europe, including Spain, Italy, France, and southern Germany. The largest proportion is brought from Italy; but those of the best quality are to be found in Spain. These flies are proportionally long, and exter- nally present to the eye a beautiful covering of mixed green and shining gold, which in a Mediterranean sun has a splendid effect, not a 208 ON ANIMAL AND little increased by the expansion of their mem- branous wings when in the act of flying ; and which, from being of a dark brown, form a striking contrast with the brilliant colours of the other parts of the body. When they alight, they usually fix themselves upon the alder, the willow, the ash, or upon trees of that description ; the branches of which being shook, they drop into a cloth placed underneath for the purpose, and are killed with the fumes of sulphur, or of some other poisonous substance, and dried in a stove for use. The cantharides pulverized, it is well known, form the principal ingredient in blisters ; and, in the hands of skilful physicians, perhaps there are few articles in the materiamedica of such impor- tant and comprehensive use, or where so many diseases are relieved by their application. Internally, the Spanish fly is more usually given in the form of tincture; and, under a very guarded management, is capable of relieving- some impor- tant diseases. To the smell, this fly is particularly offensive ; and to the taste, it is acrid and burn- ing. When taken internally, (unless administered in the most diminutive proportions,) it produces fatal inflammation of the stomach, bladder, and of other important viscera, accompanied with excruciating pain, and a train of distressing symptoms, exceeded perhaps by few even of the most active poisons. Similar symptoms, in a VEGETABLE POISONS. 209 more modified degree, are sometimes occasioned by the absorption of the fly after the application of blisters ; the management of which, in parti- cular constitutions, requires much discrimination and judgment. Cantharides, in an over dose, may be taken by mistake, and thus produce the symptoms we have enumerated. Or it may be given for the felonious purpose of poisoning, as in the case of Sir Tho- mas Overbury, to whom it was administered in his sauces ; or it may he taken in some other form, with the same diabolical intention. Dr. Male informs us, that a mixture of opium and cantharides is reported to be one of the Neapo- litan slow poisons, the surest and most infallible. To remove the symptoms produced by an over dose of cantharides, or by their absorption when externally applied, the most suitable reme- dies are, copious dilution with mucilaginous drinks as linseed tea, a solution of gum arabic in barley water to which a proportion of the nitric ether has been added, milk and the like; oily and demulcent medicines, with or without opium as circumstances shall require ; fomentatio s ; the warm bath ; and, if requisite, the free application of leeches. The other animal substances, which, when received into the stomach, discover a-poisonous tendency, are certain fish both of the scaly and shell kind, several of which prove uniformly dele- p 210 ON ANIMAL AND terious to the human constitution, and which, if not attended to, will frequently occasion death ; while others have the same effect upon particular individuals only, or at certain periods, producing a similar train of symptoms, differing in degree according to the circumstances of the case. The first, or scaly poisonous fish, are more peculiar to warm climates, though accidentally they are to be met within the northerly latitudes : the eating of them is always attended with the greatest danger, not unfrequently producing death in half an hour after they have been taken. The most poisonous of this class are the barra- cuda, the king s fish, the cavallee, the rockjish, and the most dangerous of all, the yellow bill sprat. They are each to be found in the West Indian seas ; and those fish which are the largest, and have the fewest scales, the tropical fishermen consider to be the most suspicious. The following account of the symptoms produced by the tropical poison fish has been taken from the work of Dr. Thomas, who himself suffered from eating the rock fish. " Certain and rapid death is almost sure to ensue from eating the yellow bill sprat. From the use of this, and of most other species of poison fish, the person is seized after a few hours with languor, heaviness, and fairitness, succeeded by great restlessness, flushes in the face, giddiness, cardialga, nausea, pains in the intestines, and severe cholera. The burning, which was only VEGETABLE POISONS. 211 first felt in the face, is extended over the whole body, but more frequently to the palms of the hands and soles of the feet; and is often suc- ceeded by an eruption, or efflorescence rising up in large bumps similar to bug bites, or the nettle rash. The pulse is usually hard and frequent at first, but soon becomes low and feeble. With the ardor of the skin, there is invariably a prick- ing sensation in the hands when immersed in cold water, which leading symptom will always enable us to decide with confidence on the disease. In the advanced stage of the dis- ease, I observed that the whole surface of the body acquired a deep yellow hue as in the jaundice, and that even the perspiration gave a deep yellow stain to the linen. This hap- pened particularly in my own case, as I was so unfortunate once to experience the delete- rious effects of a poisonous rock fish. When a large quantity of the fish has been taken, or the fish has been of so deadly a nature as to prove fatal, the patient generally goes off in strong con- vulsions ; but when the quantity and nature of the fish have not been so powerful as to occasion death, and the violence of the disorder suffers some abatement, the body becomes emaciated, the cuticle peels off in various parts, but more particularly in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, the hair drops, and acute shooting pains in the articulations of the wrists, knees, and 212 ON ANIMAL AND ankles are felt for a considerable length of time. From the great debility induced, it not unfre- queritly happens, that cedomatons swellings of the lower extremities ensue. The poison of fish is always attended with much immediate danger, and even when the person escapes its deadly consequences, his constitution most frequently receives such a severe shock, as to render it necessary to visit a cold climate." This account of Dr. Thomas of a very distres- sing train of symptoms produced by the swallow- ing of poisonous fish, I believe to be perfectly correct, as during my residence in the West Indies, I had frequent opportunities of seeing the poisonous fish which he has described, and of obtaining information on their very deleterious effects when received into the stomach. The second order of fish, which only produces occasionally dangerous symptoms, are the congor eel, the dolphin, the muscle, the eel, the salmon, and (in particular constitutions) all the varieties of the shell fish. Of these, the muscle, may be considered by far the most frequently injurious; and there are few persons who have not witnessed in themselves, or in their friends, the bad effects produced by eating this fish. Two interesting cases are reported in the Me- dical Repository, for June, 1815, by Dr. Burrows, one of the editors ; where the eating of muscles laken from the foul bottom of a fishing smack ir* VEGETABLE POISONS. 213 the canal at Chatham, had proved fatal in sixty- seven hours. One of these was a boy fourteen years of age, and the other was a boy of nine years. The leading symptoms in these cases, " were nausea, head ache, vomiting of a dark green fluid, an eruption like the nettle rash on the skin attended with intolerable itching ; great difficulty of breathing ; excessive pain in the abdomen and bowels ; intense thirst ; swelling of the abdomen and face; a numbness and coldness of the extremities ; delirium ; coma or stupor ; dilated pupils of the eyes; a sunk, low, and tre- mulous pulse, subsultus or catching of the ten- dons, convulsions, and death. The bodies soon after death became livid and putrified ; but as their unhappy mother objected to their being opened, the appearances on dissection could not be ascertained." Captain Vancouver relates that several of his men were ill from eating muscles, which they collected, while exploring the coast of America in the North Pacific Ocean. Three of them suf- fered more than the others; and one of them died in less than five hours after the fish had been swallowed, very tranquil and apparently in a deep sleep. His lips had turned very black, and his extremities were much swollen. The other two men, by drinking plentifully of warm water and exciting vomiting, escaped with their lives ; but were ill for many days afterwards. 214 ON ANIMAL AND Upon my arrival at Gibraltar, in the year 1788, five years after the last memorable siege, I was informed that some persons had very lately been poisoned, and others much injured, by the eating of muscles ; and that upon inquiry, it was ascer- tained, that the fish, which had produced these mischievous effects, had attached themselves to the copper bottoms and broken portions of the Spanish gun boats and floating batteries, which had been sunk in the bay, when the last unavail- ing effort had been made by the enemy to get possession of the garrison. Muscles were, in consequence, considered a poisonous fish, and fell into complete disuse; and oysters, which there, are of a very fine quality, were eaten for some time with great caution. Much ambiguity attaches to the sources from which these, and some other fish, derive their poi- sonous qualities ; as well as in what part of the fish, the poison is the most active. It appears to be a good precaution, however, (and which is confirmed by the testimony of Dr. Thomas, who states, that the entrails of the tropical poison fish, if well removed, destroys its deleterious quality, or if given to a dog, cat, or duck, immediately poisons them ;) to gut all fish well, and to wash the inside very clean before it be used ; and in the muscle to remove every dark and black por- tion from it, previously to its being eaten ; and to find out if possible, upon what bank, or shore, it has been taken. VEGETABLE POISONS. In the West Indies, the mountain crab is con- sidered one of the greatest luxuries which those islands produce, and it forms a leading article at every gentleman's table. In Jamaica, they have only one species, which is the black crab; the flesh of which is extremely light and easy of digestion. In St. Domingo, twenty leagues only to the eastward of Jamaica, there are two species of mountain crabs; the one black as in Jamaica, and the other white ; terms which are derived from the colour of their shell and flesh. The black crab of St. Domingo, like that of Jamaica, is a very wholesome diet. The white crab, which in the latter island is to be found in profusion, from feeding on the leaves of the inanchioneel ( a highly poisonous tree peculiar to the West Indies,) possesses a very deleterious quality when received into the stomach, and therefore is most carefully avoided. From all these circumstances we are led to conclude, that shell fish of every kind, in consequence of their occasionally feeding upon, or being attached to poisonous substances, may in particular instances disagree with the stomach upon one occasion, while upon another, it proves easier of digestion than any other article of food. It may here also be mentioned that there are certain idiosyncrasies, or peculiarities of constitu- tion belonging to individuals, by which particular articles shall uniformly disagree, and sometimes produce very alarming effects, while every other ON ANIMAL AND article not immediately poisonous* may be taken with impunity. This observation is particularly applicable to the eating of fish, and to those of the shell tribe, more than any other; the effects which they produce, when they disagree, bearing a strong similarity to those occasioned by fish that are uniformly poisonous, differing only in degree. The symptoms of the poisonous effects of shell fish are, languor, depression of spirits, nausea, heartburn, vertigo, a sense of weight with great pain in the region of the stomach, active cholera, burning heat on the skin extending from the body to the extremities, particularly in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, and most fre- quently, an effloresence or eruption on the skin, attended with intolerable itching. These symptoms, if not relieved, sometimes terminate fatally, like those we have detailed as produced by the eating of the scaly poisonous fish, and therefore they cannot be too promptly removed. In the treatment in both instances, the first object is to get rid of the offending matter as quickly as possible. Nature, fortunately, very often effects this purpose without the aid of art, by bringing on very active cholera; in which she is to be imitated, by remedies that will very quickly clear the prima3 via?. The next indication, is to arm the stomach against the operation .of such portions of the fish as may not have been VEGETABLE EO1SONS. 217 ejected by such remedies ; and, if possible to decompose them. For this purpose, the carbo- nate of ammonia, combined with ether and opium, will be found a very efficacious medicine, par- ticularly if assisted by fomentations and the warm bath, so as to promote a determination to the skin. In the West Indies, the capsicum, or cayenne pepper, freely administered, is considered an antidote against fish poisons ; and in that cli- mate, where the inflammatory disposition does not prevail, this may probably answer better than any other, remedy ; its use in this country, must be regulated by the constitution of the patient. Should increased pain, swelling, and tention of the abdomen supervene, free local depletion by cupping glasses, or by leeches, should be resorted to, to be succeeded by fomen- tations and a blister ; saline medicines, with plentiful dilution, are in that case to take the place of the volatile cordial remedies ; and should cholera prevail, opium is to be administered as circumstances shall indicate. To ascertain the poisonous quality of fish, it has been a custom in the West Indies, to give the entrails to a dog, cat, or duck ; and if no bad effects ensue, to conclud e the fish to be wholesome. Another method, is to put a silver spoon into the water in which fish is boiling; and if, upon taking it out, the spoon be unsullied, the fish is supposed to be safe; but if the colour be at all changed, \ 218 ON ANIMAL then it is considered dangerous. But these experiments, for obvious reasons, are not to be too hastily depended upon. Having finished our remarks upon the first and second classes of animal poisons, and proposing to reserve our observations upon the third class, viz. the different contagions, for a more suitable opportunity; we shall now proceed to the con- sideration of those poisons which are derived from the vegetable kingdom. Vegetable poisons have been divided into acrid, and narcotic, according to the effects which they produce, upon being received into the stomach ; the first, or acrid, causing pain, inflammation, and erosion of the parts to which they are im- mediately applied, and acting more remotely upon the distant organs ; the latter, or narcotic, acting principally upon the brain and nervous system, and less dangerously on the stomach and other parts of the grand intestinal canal, to which they have been first applied. This distinction, however, is not to be made without some reserve; since all the vegetable poisons produce a com- bined effect upon the digestive organs, and upon the brain and nervous system ; it being only in a relative degree, that the difference is to be ob- served. It would be an endless attempt, and not very amusing, to give you a detailed account of all the vegetable poisons, which have been termed acrid ; VEGETABLE POISONS. 219 as more than seventy articles have been set down by the writers on the materia medica as belonging to that head. It will be sufficient to point out a few which perhaps may be more familiar, and which are the most likely to be misapplied in their use. Among these may be enumerated, aconitum, monk's head, or blue wolfsbane, which is also a strong narcotic ; the colchicum, or meadow saf- fron ; the colocynthis, or bitter apple ; the ela- terium, or wild cucumber; euphorbium, which is prepared from a species of spurge ; hellebore ; gamboge; sedum acre, or houseleek ; the sabina juniperis, or savine; the scilla, squill, or sea onion ; scammony ; and, the stavisagrea, or stavisagre. All the above articles begin to shew their effects immediately upon being received into the mouth, where they produce an acrid taste, heat, smarting, dryness of the fauces, and a constric- tion of the throat. Upon descending, they occa- sion nausea and vomiting; and when they have reached both the stomach and intestines, severe pain and spasm in* those organs, active and most violent cholera, swelling and tension of the abdo- men, a strong and frequent pulse, a hurried and difficult respiration, considerable vertigo and pain and weight in the head, muscular spasms, (particularly of the throat and face,) and general distress and anxiety. These symptoms are sue- 220 ON ANIMAL AND ceeded by cold perspirations, much nervous de- pression, a very dilated pupil of the eye, a slow feeble pulse, convulsions, and death. Most of the articles previously alluded to, though in an over dose, strong poisons, are used in medicine ; and in the hands of prudent and skilful physicians, many of them prove remedies of great value. But as they all possess very active qualities, too much discretion cannot be observed in the application of them to medicinal purposes. The appearances, on dissection of persons who have been destroyed by any of the acrid vege- tables, are much the same as those produced by the mineral poisons, differing only in degree. Great swelling and livid appearance of the abdo- men; inflammation, erosion, and gangrene of the stomach, intestines, and sometimes of the aesopha- gus ; and occasionally, a determination of blood to the head ; are the circumstances most observ- able in such cases. In the treatment, the principal object is to clear the prima viae of the offending matter with as little delay as possible ; to sheath the whole of the grand intestinal tube from the acrimony of the poison by demulcent remedies ; to remove fever and inflammation when present; and to support the constitution with cordials when symptoms of exhaustion supervene. For this purpose, a quick operating emetic, mild aperients, demulcent VEGETABLE POISONS. 221 drinks, general and local bleeding, fomentations and blisters, saline diaphoretic medicines, the warm bath, and lastly, cordial medicines, with wine, opium, and a more generous diet are to succeed each other in the order in which the symptoms present themselves, and to be applied in the way that circumstances shall suggest, or omitted, if there be no indication for their use. We come next to the consideration of those vegetable substances which, from their more evi- dent effect on the brain and nervous system, have been termed narcotic, from narcosis to stu- pify, and which taken in overdoses prove very active poisons ; and as accidents from these sub- stances are of much more frequent occurrence than from those which have been termed the acrid poisons, we shall enter more particularly into their history, than we deemed necessary when treating on the latter description of vege- tables. We have had occasion to notice in an early part of this paper, that a large nervous expan- sion is peculiar to the structure of the stomach, by which it sympathizes with the brain and ner- vous system in a very remarkable degree. We are, therefore, not to be surprised that those sub- stances, which, by experience, we have ascer- tained to possess narcotic qualities, should, when received into the stomach, produce a train of symptoms which are immediately referable to 222 ON ANIMAL AND the brain. For though the stomach be uniformly and primarily affected in such instances, yet its internal coat is not inflamed and abraded in the same degree as when the acrid poison have been administered ; while spasmodic affections of the muscles, delirium, stupor, apoplexy, palsy, and fatal convulsions, are the never failing conse- quences of an excessive dose of the narcotic vegetables, and which symptoms are immedi- ately referable to tne brain and nervous system. The vegetable substances, which belong to the above class, as they are to be found in this country, are principally the atropa belladona, or deadly nightshade ; the cicuta, or hemlock ; the hyoscyamus, or henbane; the datura stra- monium, or thorn apple ; the lauro cerasus, or common laurel ; the digitalis purpurea, or fox glove ; the aconitum, or wolfsbane ; and the in- spissated juice of the papaver somniferum, or opium. The Atropa Belladona, Solanum Let hale, or Deadly Nightshade, which, from the berries hav- ing an inviting appearance resembling black grapes is sometimes eaten by children, is a very active poison. It grows in many parts in this country in shady situations, presenting its ripe fruit in September. Its root sends up annually several erect stems of a purple colour, from two lo three feet in height, branching out with lateral leaves in pairs, of a dusky green above, and of VEGETABLE POISONS. 223 a pale hue below. Its flowers, which bloom in June, are bell-shaped ; producing berries, which, as they are the most frequent cause of accidents, we beg particularly to state are to be distinguished when ripe, by their situation within the calyx or cup, by their round form with a longitudinal furrow on each side, by their deep purple colour with a shining smooth skin, by their containing several kidney-shaped seeds, and more especially, as differing from the black grape, by the fruit being double in the place of single. The effects of the belladoria as a poison, are giddiness, difficult respiration, pain or tightness at the chest, distressing thirst, dreadful ravings, fatuity but no stupor, the jaws are frequently closed as in tetanus, the eyes staring, the pupils dilated and insensible to light, with universal agitation and trembling (particularly the tongue,) difficulty in swallowing, unavailing efforts to vomit, convul- sions, and death. The body soon putrifies, swells remarkably, and is covered with livid spots. Blood flows from the mouth, nose, and eyes, and the stench is unsufferable. There is another species of this plant to be found in our hedges, named the Woody Night- shade, which, from bearing beautiful red berries resembling currants, also frequently attracts the attention of children, who are sometimes induced to eat the berries; which, as well as the plant, are poisonous, though not in the same active degree 224 ON ANIMAL AND as in the former plant. A guarded use of the belladona however, it appears, has been tried on the continent with good effect in convulsive com- plaints, palsy, mania, and in cancer ; though it requires very judicious management in its appli- cation. The Conium Maculatum, Cicuta Major, or Greater Hemloc/c, is another of the vegetable poi- sons which not unfrequently has led to accidents from the mistaking it for some other vegetable ; and which also has been usefully applied in medicine for diseases of a similar kind to those in which the belladona has been prescribed. The cicuta grows naturally on the banks and sides of roads in this country, and has a large taper root like a small parsnip. The stalk is smooth, cylindrical, spotted with purple, and covered at its inferior parts with black spots. It rises from three to upwards of five feet high, branching out towards the top into several smaller- stalks, garnished with decomposed leaves, whose lobes are cut at the lop into three parts. These are of a lucid green, and have a disagreeable smell. The stalks are terminated by umbels of white flowers ; the seeds are small and channel- led, and are similar to those of aniseed. It flowers in June, and the seeds ripen in August. This plant, though it has been administered in larger proportions for medicinal purposes than belladona, is still a strong poison, and produces VEGETABLE POISONS. 225 effects on the stomach and nervous system, similar to other narcotic substances. As a re- medy, the cicuta has been usefully administered in cancer, scrofula, chronic rheumatism, obsti- nate coughs, slow inflammatory affections of the lungs, and in some convulsive disorders. This vegetable, therefore, notwithstanding its poison- ous qualities, may be considered a valuable ac- quisition to the materia medica. The JEthusa Cynapium, Lesser Hemlock, or Fool's Parsley, is sometimes mistaken for garden parsley, by which accidents have not unfrequently been occasioned. It may be distinguished by the following character : the upper surface of the leaves is shining, and of a darkish green colour, diffusing no odour when entire, but when rubbed between the fingers, producing a smell which is extremely offensive. The lesser hem* lock is very poisonous; it causes vomiting, intox- ication or delirium, numbness of the extremities, and often death. The Cicuta Virosa Aquatica, or Water Hem- lock, is a much more active poison than either of the above two species, and, in the opinion of Dr. Male, is the strongest of the vegetable tribe peculiar to Great Britain. It is often eaten by mistake for the wild smallage, or wild celery, as both grow in the same places, and are frequently to be met together in rivulets, and in wet marshy grounds. But the two plants may be thus dis- 226 ON ANIMAL AND tinguished the leaves of the water hemlock are deeply divided quite to the pedicle, into three long and narrow sharp pointed segments ; whereas those of the srnallage are only slightly cut in three roundish obtuse segments. In Norway, the water hemlock has been considered so strong a poison to man and brutes, that its use as a medicine has been prohibited, and yet goats and swine eat it with impunity, which exemplifies an observation made in a former paper; namely, that we have in reality no vegetable substances which are univer- sally poisonous, This plant, when swallowed, occasions convulsions, and rapid death, but pro- duces no sickness, nor any affection of the sto- mach and bowels. The smell of it, in a close place, occasions giddiness and a head-ache. The Hyoscyamus, or Henbane, in small doses, is a valuable medicine, possessing narcotic pow- ers little inferior to opium, for which it is often substituted. This plant has long tapering roots, which strike deep into the ground. These send out in the spring, erect; branched stems, about three feet in height, with large soft leaves of a sea green colour, deeply slashed in their edges. The flowers, which appear in June and July, are of a* straw colour, beautifully pencilled with a net work of purple veins, terminating in globular capsules closed with a convex, smooth lid ; the capsules containing cells which are filled with small irregular seeds. The whole of this plant has VEGETABLE POISONS. 227 a strong, disagreeable, and narcotic odour; but scarcely making any impression on the tongue. It grows in waste grounds, on the sides of roads, and particularly in calcareous soils. The seeds, leaves, and root of this plant, as well as of all the other species of this genus, are poisonous; producing, in some instances, delirium, convul- sions, and death in a few hours after they have been taken ; and as the root has sometimes been mistaken for parsnips, and used for soup, too much care cannot be observed in guarding against such accidents. So active is this poison, that even a plaster prepared from it has occasioned a trembling of the limbs, and intoxicating symp- toms ; and yet the hog takes it occasionally, with- out any bad effect. The Datura Stramonium, or Thorn Apple, which lately has been brought into public notice from its affording relief in asthma, and in some other pulmonary affections, (though originally from America,) is now indeginous to this country ; and is a plant, or rather weed, very commonly found on the refuse of gardens, and even on the banks of our hedges. It is an annual, sending np a thick, round, branching stalk, from two to three feet in height, with large irregularly ovate leaves, pointed at the extremity, of a dark green colour. Its flowers are white, of a full size, and appear in July and August. In its recent state, it has a bitterish taste ; and when rubbed between the fingers, a smell somewhat resembling that of the ON ANIMAL AND poppy. Like other narcotics, a full dose brings on vertigo or giddiness, dilatation of the pupil of the eye, head-ache, drowsiness, difficulty of swal- lowing, and when taken to excess, delirium, con- vulsions, and death.* The Laura Cerasus,or Common Cherry Laurel t must be too well known to render it necessary to enter into an account of its natural history and external character, since it forms one of the leading ornaments of our domestic shrubberies, and its leaves are in common use for culinary purposes. But it is of great importance to be acquainted with its deleterious qualities, and to be upon our guard against a too free use of a shrub, that, under certain processes, is capable of being rendered the most active poison which this country produces. The leaves of this shrub have a bitter, styptic taste, accompanied with a flavour resembling that of bitter almonds. Theflower also manifests a similar flavour. The powdered leaves applied to the nostrils, excite sneezing, though not so strongly as produced by tobacco. The kernel-like flavour, which these leaves impart, from being generally esteemed grateful, have occasioned their being employed for culinary purposes in the making of custards, puddings, and the like; and as the mucilaginous quality of the other articles used, are calculated to coun- teract their deleterious quality, arid as the pro- * For the treatment of this and the preceding narcotic vegetable poisons, see the article opium. VEGETABLE POISONS. 229 portion of the leaves so employed is very small, they have seldom been productive of any very serious effects. The smell and flavour of laurel water very strongly resembles the bitter almond, the essential oil of which, as well as of every bitter kernel, from containing; prussic acid, is most actively poisonous. From a similar cause, the laurel leaf derives its deleterious quality; and hence its essential oil, undiluted, produces instan- taneous death, like the fatal fit of apoplexy; which renders it the most terrible and deadly poison at present known. If taken with distilled water, its effects are also quick, though less rapid than in the former instance. Its operation is confined principally to the brain and nervous system, affecting but little the stomach ; produc- ing convulsions, tetanus, palsy, and ultimately, fatal apoplexy. The only case with which I am acquainted in which a preparation of this shrub has been feloniously administered as a poison, was in that of Sir Theodosius Boughton, who was poisoned with laurel water, in the year 1780. The dose administered, was about two ounces, which, by the offender, was substituted for an aperient draught that had been ordered by the apothecary; the former of which was given to him unconsci- ously by his own mother, Lady Boughton. In two minutes after the dose had been taken, Lady Boughton states in evidence, that her son strug- 230 ON ANIMAL AND gled hard, and could with difficulty keep it down. He had a prodigious rattling in his stomach and guggling, and these symptoms continued about ten minutes. Perceiving him a little composed, she went out of the room, and returned in about five minutes; when to her great surprise, she found him with his eyes fixed upwards, his teeth clenched, and foam running out of his mouth ; and he died in two hours from the time of taking the poison. Dr. Parsons, then professor of anatomy at Oxford, who was called upon to give evidence, stated as a proof of the activity of the laurel poi- son, that a girl eighteen years of age, in perfect health, who by mistake had taken less than two table spoonsful of the first runnings of the simple water of laurel leaves, within half a minute fell down, was convulsed, foamed at the mouth, and died in a short time. And Dr. Ashe reported, that a tea spoonful of the essential oil would destroy animal life in a few seconds. Dr. Male, in his treatise on Medical Juris- prudence, mentions, that two ounces of the water distilled three times, killed a middle size dog in less than half a minute, even while it was pouring- down his throat; and that laurel leaves, simply beat into a pulp, possess a deleterious quality ; and yet the strongest decoctions or infusions of them, will be taken by horses with impunity, even when given to the quantity of a pailful ; so y^riously do poisons act upon different animals, VEGETABLE POISONS. 231 The doctor fully confirms the poisonous quality of the bitter almond, the basis of which, like that of the laurel, is prussic acid ; and states that the smallest proportion inserted into a wound pro- duces death ; and Dr. Brodie, in the Philoso- phical Transactions, has given some interesting experiments of the oil of bitter almonds upon animals, illustrative of its destructive operation on the animal system. Laurel water, combined with other articles, is not qn frequently put into insipid wines, to give them a flavour. For the treatment, Dr. Orfila recommends first, active vomits ; next, very strong infusions of cof- fee ; and lastly, bold and large doses of the oil of turpentine administered in coffee, at intervals of three or four hours. The Nicotiana Tabaca t or Tobacco, is too well known to need description, and its narcotic effects are daily experienced by those not accus- tomed to its use. Differing from the other nar- cotics when taken internally, it acts as powerfully on the stomach and intestines, as upon the brain and circulating system, producing great pain in the abdomen, active vomiting and cholera, fol- lowed by vertigo, delirium, a dilated pupil of the eye, great variations in the pulse, convulsions, and death. The same effects have been produced by a decoction applied externally, or by an oint- ment to an open surface ; and excepting where habit has rendered it less deleterious, tobacco 232 ON ANIMAL AND may be considered in all instances a very active poison. Santieul, a celebrated latin author, who was born at Paris, in the year 1650, according to Dr. Orfila, was killed by an inconsiderate person emptying the contents of a snuff box into his wine; which as soon as he had swallowed, threw him into a great agony, and put a period to his life in four hours. Many other instances might be adduced, of accidents occasioned by the in- discreet use of tobacco in its simple state, or when prepared into snuff; though both, from the force of habit, are daily consumed in very extraordinary proportions and apparently with impunity; but how far without ultimate injury to the constitution, is a matter which experience alone can decide. The Digitalis Purpurea or Fox Glove, is well known by its beautiful flowers, which adorn our banks and hedges ; and the plant lately, under an improved cultivation, has been introduced into our gardens. Its external character indeed is now so familiarly understood, that a particular description seems hardly necessary. Its leaves, which are the most active part of the plant, though the whole is poisonous, are large, oblong, egg-shaped, covered with hair, and serrated; they have a bitter, very nauseous taste, with some acrimony. Its flowers, which are somewhat bell-shaped, are of a purple colour, and mottled within; being generally attached to one side of VEGETABLE POISONS. 233 the stem, from which they hang in a pendulous form, and often in clusters. The medicinal effects of digitalis, are a diminution in the frequency of the pulse and in the irritability of the whole system, and an increase in the action of the absorbents and in the secretions in general. Hence it has been a most useful remedy in in- flammatory complaints, pulmonary affections, hsemorrhagy, scrofula, dropsy, and in some cases of mania. In too large doses, it produces great pain in the stomach, vomiting, cholera, impaired vision, vertigo, delirium, hiccup, a cessation of arterial action, convulsions, aad death. It has, therefore, deservedly been ranked among the active poisons, and when taken to excess, is to be treated in the same manner as an over dose of opium to be hereafter detailed. Aconitum, Monk's Head, or Common Blue Wolfs- bane, though used by some physicians as a me- dicine, is in reality a very active poison, possess- ing a caustic and suffocating quality, by which swallowing is immediately affected, and the stomach is corroded. We have, therefore, already ranked it among the acrid poisons ; but as it possesses narcotic qualities also, we have deemed it necessary to notice it more particularly in this place. This plant though a native of France, Germany, and Switzerland, has been introduced into our gardens for ornamental purposes. It is perennial, having many stalks arising from one root, with 234 ON ANIMAL AND alternative petiolated leaves divided into five parts, each portion being cut into linear segments; to the leaves are attached terminal branches of irre- gular blue flowers with five petals, many stamina, and three pistils, succeeded by three capsules containing seed. When the plant is first gathered, it has a strong smell, but no peculiar taste. Each part of it, but especially the roots, is one of the most virulent of the vegetable poisons. Too large a dose occasions a very painful sensation in the tongue and jaws, with difficulty in swallowing, vio- lent heat in the throat, pain in the stomach, most active vomiting, and cholera, giddiness, fainting- fits, cold sweats, convulsions, and death. The juice of the plant was formerly used by savage nations for the purpose of poisoning their arrows. The treatment consists of actively clearing the prim a via3, plentiful dilution with milk and other demulcent fluids, a large proportion of the whites of eggs beat up and taken frequently, a free use of a very strong infusion of coffee, and if pain and tension of the abdomen supervene, the appli- cation of twelve or fifteen leeches to the part affected, followed by fomentations and saline diaphoretic medicines ; or if great debility and nervous depression ensue, volatile alkali in large doses, ether, wine, and other cordials. The seed of the berries of the Strychnos, more commonly known by the name of Nux Vomica* which is brought from the East Indies, is a very active poison, and particularly so to dogs and VEGETABLE POISONS. 235 to the brute species in general ; though it has been used on the continent in moderate doses for various diseases, which there, it has had the reputation of curing. In this country, it has rarely been prescribed. It is one of the articles employed in the adulteration of fermented liquors, to which it imparts an intoxicating, and we may add, a very poisonous quality. When taken in an overdose, nux vomica produces very rapidly a general torpor of the system, nervous tremblings, coma, convulsions, tetanus or locked jaw, and death; its action being confined princi- pally to the brain and nervous system, arid affect- ing but little the stomach and intestines The Cocculus Indicus, a berry well known in this country, is also a narcotic poison, frequently put into porter to impart to it an inebriating qua- lity, and though by no means so active or so dangerous as the nux vornica, yet it is a very improper article to be used for such purposes. Camphor, the exuded juice of the Laurus Cam- phora, which is imported from Japan and which in the hands of a skilful physician is a most valu- able remedy, if taken in overdoses, or improperly administered, is an active poison, producing nearly the same train of symptoms as the two former articles, with the addition of great pain and heat in the stomach, and throughout the whole of the intestinal tube. For the treatment of the last three poisons, Dr. 236 ON ANIMAL AND Orfila recommends an active emetic, the inflating the lungs by artificial means, and the administer- ing a draught every ten minutes, composed of two ounces of water, one drachm of ether, two drachms of oil of turpentine, and half an ounce of sugar. We come next to a class of substances partly partaking, in a chemical sense, of the vegetable, partly of the animal character, which, from their poisonous quality, not unfrequently give rise to fatal accidents, and therefore deserve a particular notice in this place. We allude to the agaric species, or false mushrooms', among which the Agaricus Piperatus, which grows near the stumps of trees, and the Agaricus Muscarius to be found in the open ground, are the most active. The former, from its situation may be easily known; but the latter sometimes can with difficulty be distinguished from the genuine mushroom. The following rules, from the work of Dr. Orfila, may be useful in detecting poisonous mushrooms: " Mushrooms, which grow in thick forests where the light of the sun does not penetrate, are in general bad. Their surface is moist, more or less dirty, and they have a disagreeable appearance. Those which are heavy, with a moist surface, nauseous smell, and which, on being cut, present different colours, changing from time to time, and found in shaded places, are also to be rejected. VEGETABLE POISONS. 237 The same may be said of those which grow quickly, and decay immediately; of those bitten and abandoned by insects ; and of those with a soft stalk, and covered with patches of skin." The Agaricus Muscarous, which Dr. Orfila does not appear to have noticed, from often being mistaken for the true mushroom, is de- serving of a more particular description ; and which, from being peculiar to Great Britain, may not have been brought within the doctor's ob- servation. In this species, the pillar stalk is white, thick, and hollow, thicker towards the top; egg-shaped at its base; surrounded at its middle with a pendulous membrane, and furnished with a cap, which is large, sometimes six inches or more in diameter ; almost flat ; and either beset with angular downy, or by white or red, warts. The gills are white, flat, or inversely spear shaped ; the greater number extend from the rim of the cap to the stalk, the rest only half way. When this mushroom is decaying, the gills become brownish. It is found in pastures and woods. The true mushrooms, on the other hand, may be known by their external whiteness, and by being of a pale red within, when young, and a deeper red, when older. They are at their first appearance, of a round figure, with short and thick stalks, and are not much larger than a small nut. After they have a little unfolded their membranes, 238 ON ANIMAL AND they appear within red, full and close; their caps very smooth, soft, and white. They grow in meadows and commons that have a rich soil, and sometimes to a very considerable size; in which case the cap becomes flattened, broad, umbrageous, and the lines within are regular to the stalk and of a deep chocolate colour. To try the purity of mushrooms, it is recom- mended to boil with them an onion with the outer coat removed; and should the onion become blue or black, the former is to be discarded as dan- gerous. If the onion remain white, the mushroom may then be considered good and fit for use. Whole families are sometimes poisoned, and numerous persons (as we know from daily ex- perience,) have their health most seriously injured by the eating of unwholesome mushrooms. And although we may attribute these effects occasion- ally to an excessive use, or rather to an abuse, of those which are not deleterious; yet we cannot be too cautious in our selection of this luxurious but very dangerous article of diet, as many of the species are rank and positive poisons. The general effects of poisonous mushrooms are nausea, great heat and pain in the stomach and intestines, followed by vomiting and cholera, fainting fits, a small, hard, and frequent pulse, delirium, stupor, cold sweats, and if no relief be obtained, death. The treatment consists of a quick and decisive VEGETABLE POISONS. 239 vomit, followed by a full dose of castor oil, sul- phate of magnesia, or of any other suitable ape- rient; and succeeded by frequent doses of ether in combination with the volatile alkali, fomenta- tions to the abdomen, and demulcent drinks. Should inflammatory symptoms supervene, the free use of leeches, and the substitution of saline diaphoretics for the cordial remedies, are to be resorted to. The most important, however, of all the nar- cotic vegetables, and the one most frequently productive of accidents, is the inspissated juice of the Papaver Somniferum, or, as it has been termed more familiarly, Opium. This article is imported from Persia, Egypt, Smyrna, and other parts of Levant, and from the East Indies, in cakes from four ounces to a pound in weight; and is prepared from the poppy in the following manner, as related by Mr Ker, in Dr. Crump's dissertation on opium. "The seeds are sown in quadrangular area, the intervals of which are formed into aqueducts for conveying water to each area. The plants are allowed to grow six or eight inches from each other and are plentifully supplied with water until they are six or eight inches high; when a nutrient compost of dung, ashes, and nitrous earth, is laid over the area. A little before the flowers appear, they are again well watered, till the capsules or heads of the poppy are half 240 ON ANIMAL AND grown; when the watering is stopped, and they begin to collect the opium. This they effect, by making at sun set, two longitudinal incisions of the capsule from below upwards without penetra- ting the cavity, with an instrument which has two points, as fine and as sharp as a lancet. The incisions are repeated every evening until each capsule has received six or eight wounds, and they are then allowed to ripen their seeds." " The juice which exudes, is collected in the morning, and being inspissated into a proper consistence by working it in an earthen pot in the sun's heat, it is formed into cakes for sale." " This article is often adulterated by the addition of other substances which are kept a secret ; but it has been ascertained that these extraneous additions have seldom exceeded one part and a half out of twelve of the opium imported into this country." Genuine opium is of a reddish brown colour, and possesses a strong, peculiar smell, and a nauseous, bitter, and acrid taste, followed by a slight warmth in the mouth. It dissolves in water, in wine and in alcohol, and it readily blends with solid substances, thus admitting of a variety of pharmaceutical preparations, so as to meet the views and intentions of the prescrib- ing, physician, when used as a remedy. Considered as a medicine, opium may deserv- edly be ranked among one of the greatest blessings. VEGETABLE POISONS. 241 conferred on mankind ; since there are few dis- eases in which it does not afford some relief; many very painful and dangerous maladies it rapidly cures; and in lingering and hopeless cases, it seldom fails to suspend the more violent symp- toms, and to render the afflicted patient as easy and as comfortable under his sufferings, as the nature of his complaint will admit. When taken or administered as a poison, it has usually been swallowed in its pure solid state, or simply dissolved in wine or spirits under the familiar name of laudanum ; and when suicide is decided upon, this poison is often preferred, from the mistaken notion that death will follow without being preceded by pain or a conscious- ness of its effects; or, in other words, by its pro- ducing immediate and fatal sleep, from which the individual can never again beroused. Owingtothe resemblance of laudanum in its colour to tincture of rhubarb, and to some other pharmaceutical preparations, (particularly should the bottle in which the article is contained be without a lable, or have received an erroneous designation,) it is also not unfrequently taken by mistake; and as the medicines which it resembles, are generally nauseous, the whole is commonly swallowed before the error has been detected. In those countries in which opium is produced, and where the prevailing religion prohibits the use of wine, as in Turkey, in the Barbary States, in R ON ANIMAL AND and throughout a large part of Hindoos- tan and other portions of Asia, opium, by pro- gressive habit is swallowed in very large propor- tions in the solid form, to the amount of half an ounce or more each day, without producing any other effect than that of temporary inebriety; and we know of many instances of its being taken with extraordinary freedom in this country by persons who have gradually accustomed them- selves to its use. This practice, however, cannot be too sufficiently deprecated ; since by enervat- ing the system, it renders it more susceptible of the attacks of disease, and by accustoming the constitution to its use, it effectually deprives the individual of a remedy, which, when required, is the most efficacious perhaps of any in the whole materia medica. Under ordinary circumstances, great circumspection, in the administration of this very powerful drug is required, so as to adopt its proportions to the constitution and state of health of the individual for whom it has been prescribed. A moderate dose of opium for an adult, in the solid form, is from a grain to a grain and a half; or when given in solution under the title of laud- anum, from twenty to thirty drops; a full one may be rated at from two to two grains and a half the solid; or from forty to fifty drops of the liquid opium ; a large dose, from three to four grains of the former, or sixty to eighty drops of the latter; every dose beyond, is to be consid- VEGETABLE POISONS. 243 ered unsafe and dangerous ; bearing in recollec- tion, that the smallest dose mentioned may, in some instances, prove too powerful; and that the largest proportion, should never be administered, but in cases of great urgency, and should always be subjected to such management as will guard against the possibility of accidents. The exact quantity, that would certainly prove fatal to the human subject, could we ascertain the fact, it would answer no useful purpose to mention. Fortunately it often happens, that a very large proportion cf laudanum, by occasioning imme- diate and active vomiting, proves its own cure; and thus frequently saves the life of the patient before medical aid can be obtained. When this effect is not produced, or when the vomiting occasioned by the poisoning is not sufficient to afford the desired relief; so far from sleep and exemption from pain being the result, the most distressing and the most afflicting train of symp- toms generally supervene. Perpetual nausea, constant and unavailing retching, pain and great uneasiness at the region of the stomach, excessive giddiness, with weight and excruciating pain in the head, much bodily anxiety, and alarming mental depression, followed in a few hours by delirium, convulsions, stupor, apoplexy,and death, are the fatal consequences of an over dose, or of a wicked administration of this poison ; effects which cannot be too strongly impressed on the minds of those, who, from not possessing the resolution to 244 ON ANIMAL AND meet the evils of life with becoming fortitude, are bent on self destruction; or who in the con- templation of murder may have sufficient human- ity to avoid this most cruel and most cowardly means of accomplishing their object. In the treatment of the poisonous effects of opium, the first object is to relieve the stomach of the offen- ding matter as effectually and as speedily as possible by administering a quickly operating and active emetic. The sulphates of zinc and copper in suitable doses are the most speedy in their operation; next a combination of tartar emetic and ipecacuanha ; or should these not be at hand, the irritating the throat with a feather; or a tea spoonful of flour of mustard in a glass of water very frequently repeated, are to be given, so that by some means or other active vomiting- be induced as early as possible; and then, a suitable aperient can betaken with advantage. After these remedies, the free use of acids, as lemonade, vinegar and water, oranges, and the like, may /or the first time be administered, and in very considerable proportions; it having been ascertained that acids given before the primae via? be well cleared, have a very dangerous tendency, by dissolving and adding increased activity to such of the poison as remains in the stomach. A very strong infusion of coffee in the proportion of eight ounces to a quart of boil- ing water, has been found to be of great use, by giving a cupful alternately with an acid drink ; VEGETABLE POISONS. 245 and when the pulse flags and stupor intervenes, full doses of volatile alkali, ether, brandy and water, blisters, sinapisms to the feet, and other stimuli, and frequent rousing of the patient from his lethargy must be resorted to, under the hopes of keeping up the arterial action, before a fatal exhaustion has taken place. I shall conclude my account of the narcotic poisons by introducing to your notice, the Prussic Acid, which, though derived principally from animal substances, is one of the strongest narcotic poisons probably in nature; and in activity and virulence, takes the lead of all the other poisons. This acid, which is composed of hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon, is prepared from dried blood, or the horns or hoofs of animals by distil- lation with fixed alkali ; or it may be obtained by decomposing the prussian iron or stone blue, of which it forms one of the constituent parts. The prussic acid exists in the form of a colour- less fluid; and has a strong odour resembling that of the peach tree blossoms. \Vhen in the state of vapour or gas, it is very volatile and inflamma- tory; and it has an acrid and acid taste, though possessing very few of the other properties of the acids. It exists in a natural state in bitter almonds, the kernels of apricots, the leaves of laurel, and in peach blossoms, and in Germany, it has lately been discovered in opium; from which we may conjecture, that all narcotic vege- tables possess a portion of this acid, It has also 246 ON ANIMAL AND been found in the mineral kingdom, in combina- tion with iron. It is easily decomposable at high temperatures; and becomes converted into ammo- nia, carbonic acid and carburetted hydrogen gases. Of its poisonous qualities, Dr. Majendie has given us some interesting illustrations in the eighth number of the Journal of Sciences and Arts, in the following experiments : " First. The extremity of a glass tube, which had been previously dipped into a vial containing some pure prussic acid, was immediately plunged into the throat of a strong dog. The tube had scarcely come in contact with the tongue, than the animal made two or three long and rapid in- spirations, and fell dead. No method we could devise, enabled us afterwards to trace the small- est signs of sensibility in the muscular organs of this animal after death. Second. An atom of the acid was applied to the eye of another dog: these effects were as sudden and as fatal as in the pre- ceding. Third. A drop of the acid diluted with four drops of alcohol, were injected into the jugular vein of a third dog. The animal fell dead that instant, as if struck by a cannon ball or by lightning." " The doctor is of opinion, that the pure prussic acid, as prepared by Mr. Guy Lusac, is undoubtedly of all the known poisons, the most active and the most promptly mortal/' Monsieur Kobart, of Rouen, states, that the gas of the prussic acid in combination with atmo- VEGETABLE POISONS. 247 spherical air, when confined in a closed matrass, has a very powerful effect upon animals; which he illustrates by the following experiments. " First. The bill of a bird being applied to the orifice of the matrass, the animal died in an instant. Second. The mouth of a young rabbit twenty-five days old applied to the orifice of the same matrass which was corked after each exper- iment, the little animal died in less than half a second, with the mouth open, and discharging a great quantity of saliva. Third. A cat, six months old, being applied in a similar manner to the orifice of the same matrass, made some effort to withdraw itself; but in two seconds, it died with the same symptoms as in the second exper- iment. Fourth. An old but healthy spaniel was applied to the orifice of the matrass, so that the nostrils only were exposed to the vapour; it made several efforts to escape from its painful situation but in six minutes fell down and died in the manner already described. Fifth. A much stronger dog which had not eaten for twelve hours being submitted to the same experiment, died in a similar manner in less than six seconds. From these five experiments, Mr. Robart observes, " we may conclude that a matrass of the capacity of two litres full ofprussic acid gas, mixed with atmospheric air, is sufficient to demon- strate the deleterious nature of that gas; and that its injurious quality is not sensibly modified by admixture with atmospherical air." 248 ON ANIMAL AND The following experiments were afterwards made with the liquid prussic acid. " First. A rabbit, five days old, being forced to swallow a grain by weight of this liquid, the little animal uttered a cry, and died in a second. Second. A coffee spoonful of the acid was given to a very strong dog. The animal uttered a very strong cry, and instantly expired." "These two experiments prove the deleterious nature of the liquid acid ; but comparing the promptness of the effect, the gaseous acid, even when mixed with air, appears to act more power- fully than the liquid acid." His next experiments were made with the prussic acid dissolved in alcohol. " In experi- ment the first, a young rabbit was forced to swal- low a coffee spoonful of this alcohol, when it exhibited symptoms resembling those of intoxi- cation. It remained for some minutes without motion; but soon recovered all its vigour, as if nothing had happened. Concluding that the preparation was imperfect, he repeated and altered the process; and then caused a strong- dog to swallow two drachms of the liquid, which threw him in two seconds in strong con- vulsions, and he died in five minutes." From these experiments Monsieur Robart concludes, " that the prussic acid gas is the most promptly poisonous of the three preparations; next, the liquid acid; and lastly, the prussid acid dissolved in alcohol." VEGETABLE POISONS. 249 In the course of his observations, Mr. Robart notices a chemist in Germany, who had made a preparation of the prussiated alcohol, which bore some resemblance to laurel water. " The chemist shewed this liquor to some friends who were dining with him; and, on leaving the room, forgot to carry it away. The servant on clearing the table finding this liquor agreeable to his palate, drank a small glass full of it, and died in two minutes as if struck down by apoplexy." " In examining after death the animals upon whom these experiments were made, it did not appear that any material mischief had been done to the important organs. The leading features, were the very dark and dirty appearance of the blood in the large vessels, and the powerful and prevailing smell of the prussic acid, which ema- nated from every part that cameunderobservation. In addition to the proof we have already given of its destructive effects on the human constitu- tion, as exemplified in the unfortunate servaut who inadvertently took a small glass of it; we may adduce a case noticed by Huffeland, who mentions, that a robust man, aged thirty-six years, at the moment when he was about to be taken up as a thief, seized a small sealed vial which he had concealed in his pocket, and breaking off the neck, swallowed the greatest part of the fluid contained in it, which was about an ounce in quantity. It spread such a strong smell of bitter almonds, as almost to stupify every one present. 250 ON ANIMAL AND The man staggered a few steps and then with- out a groan fell upon his knees, and sunk to the ground. A physician being sent for, found him quite lifeless, and without the least traces of pulse or breathing ; and though in a few minutes afterwards, slight expirations with convulsive motions about the chest were observable, yet the vital spark was evidently extinguished in a very short time after his taken the poison. In this case, as in the other, every part of the body, omitted a very strong odour of bitter almonds, which discovered at once the nature of the liquor that had been swallowed, and which odour, du- ring the dissection, was almost too powerful for the operator to bear. Another instance of poison- ing by the prussic acid, is mentioned by Orfila, when a girl took a small quantity of it, and fell dead as if struck by apoplexy. From the above well attested facts ,we may conclude, that the prussic acid is the most prompt and the most active of all the poisons hitherto discovered. It however fortunately happens, that accidents cannot occur very frequently, since its use is confined principally to practical chemists, to whom it affords some valuable tests, and to a few medical men only, who are now administering it diluted in the most cautious man- ner, as a remedy for some very obstinate diseases; the results of which have hardly yet been suffi- cient to introduce it into general practice. SYNOPTICAL TABLE OF THE DIFFERENT POISONS, Animal, Vegetable and Mineral, From which Accidents most frequently occur. ANIMAL POISONS. (A.) Those which produce their effects only when introduced into the bloodvessels. POISONS. SYMPTOMS. TREATMENT. POISONOUS SERPENTS. Crotalus Rattle Snake. Cobra de Capello, and other foreign Serpents, whose bites endanger life. Coluber Berus Viper. Burning pain, rapid inflam- mation, swelling and discolo- ration of the wounded part, extending, if not speedily re- moved, to the other parts of the body, followed by deliri- um, syncope, convulsions, and death. Immediate extirpation of, or an active caustic, to th wounded part, or both com- bined. If this be omitted, the assiduous application of equal parts of eau du luce, or spirits of ammonia and laudanum, or of salad oil, volatile alkali and laudanum. And internally, large and frequent doses of the carbonate of ammonia and oil of amber, and if the pulse flag, wine, brandy, and cordials of every kind. The same as the above, but not so rapid in their progress ; or, in general, so fatal in their consequences. Extirpation and caustic not necessary. The fat of the animal (if it can be obtained,) assiduously rubbed into the wounded part, or salad oil, and as soon as can be procur- ed, the application of eau de luce and laudanum, or of spi- rits of ammonia, salad oil, and laudanum; and internally, (if required,) the remedies re- commended for the bites of foreign serpents.* POISONOUS INSECTS. Tarantula. Scorpio- Scorpion. Scolopendra. Centipede. Vespa Crabo. Hornet. Vespa Vnlgaris. Wasp. Apis. Bee. Culex Pipiens Gnat Oestrus Bovis. Gad-fly. Pain, heat, inflammation, swelling, and discoloration of the wounded part, seldom af- fecting the constitution. The same as recommended for the bite of the viper, witfe the exception of the first ap- plication. * THE AMBER DRAUGHT. Rub ten drops of the oil of amber and twelve grains of the carbonate of ammonia in a glass mortar, with a drachm of powdered gum arabic, and as much lump sugar ; to which gradually add an ounce and a half of water, and let the draught be taken every four hours. 252 SYNOPTICAL TABLE OF POISONS. SYMPTOMS. TREATMENT. SALIVA OF THE RABID DOG, Or of other rabid Animals. Occur at an uncertain time, between fifteen and one hun- dred days or inore, by a re- newed uneasiness, pain and swelling of the wounded part ; and followed by great mental anxiety, langour, mnscular spasms, disturbed rest, a dread and almost an impossibility of swallow ing, producing convul- sive spasms, in the organs of deglutition upon the approach of fluid or even solid substan- ces to the mouth ; a swelling and prolusion of the tongne j a constant flow of viscid ex- cretion from the mouth ; de- lirium ; general convulsions ; and death. Extirpation of, or the appli- cation of an active caustic to the wounded part, or the two combined, at any period be- fore the secondary inflamma- tion of the wound supervene. All other remedies uncertain, and therefore not to be de- pended upon. (B>) Those animal substances which produce their poisonous effects only, when received into the stomach. POISONOUS FISH. Tropical and European, inclu- ding poisonous muscles, and such edible fish, as, in par- ticular constitutions, pro- dace poisonous effects. Nausea, weight and fulness of stomach, vomiting, exces- sive pain in the abdomen, cho- lera, restlessness and anxiety, vertigo, fainting h'ts, flushing and burning of the face and whole body, general cuticular eruption, universal jaundice, convulsions, and death. An immediate active vomit succeeded by a large dosp of castor oil, or an active saline aperient, and followed by full doses of the carbonate of am- monia, ether, and opium, fo- mentations and the warm bath; and if inflammation su- pervene, by general and local bleeding, blistering, and cool- ing remedies * CANTHARIDES. Spanish Fly. Fetid breath, acrid taste, burning heat in the mouth, stomach, and whole intestinal canal, excessive pain and in- flammation of the stomach, kidney s, and bladder.delirium convulsions, and death. Copious dilution with lin- seed tea, barley water with gum arabic, fan ounce to a quart), milk, sweet oil mixed up with sugar and water, fo- mentations, the warm bath, general and local bleeding,and opium, when required. * In all cases of poisoning, no time should be lost in calling in medical advice ; and when it is of importance to empty the stomach immediately, the stomach pump, which should be in the hands of every medical practitioner, ought to be used, as being more prompt in its operation than emetics. When professional assistance cannot be procured, then the remedies in the order we have recommended to be resorted to ; and if emetics are to be given, either for the animal, vegetable, or mineral poisons, the following are proper: Twenty grains or a scruple of ipecacuhana with two grains of emetic tartar ; or three grains of emetic tartar alone ; or twenty grains of white vitriol ; or four grains of blue ritriol ; are to be mixed in a wine glass full of water, and given every quarter of an hour until the effect be produced. If none of these articles be at hand, a tea spoonfull of the flour of mustard to be given in a glass of water every ten minutes ; or copious draughts of weak chamomile tea ;. or warm water; or tickling the throat to excite vomiting. THE DIFFERENT POISONS. 253 VEGETABLE POISONS. (A.) Acrid vegetable poisons, which produce their effect princi- pally on the stomach, and the internal parts with which they first come in contact. POISONS. SYMPTOMS TREATMENT. Colchicum Autumnale. Mea- Acrid taste, with heat. smart- An active emetic, followed dow Sajfion. ing, dryness and constriction by plentiful dilution with mild Colocynthis Bitter Apple. of the throat, followed by nau- demulcent drinks, as recom- Elateriuna Wild Cucumber. sea, vomiting, and excessive mended for poisoning by can- Euphorbium. pain in the stomach and bow- tharides ; or if active vomiting Helleborus Niger.-- Black els, and active cholera. Ver- commences, then the dilution Hellebore, tigo, swelling, pain and tension without the emetic. This to Scilla Maritima. Squill, or of the abdomen ; hurried and be followed by a full dose of Sea Onion. difficult respiration, muscular castor oil, or of epsom salts, Gamboge. spasms, internal pain of the after which, opium, ether, and head, cold perspirations, dila- camphor may be given ; unless N. B. Many other article* ted pupil, feeble pulse, con- inflammatory symptoms super- hare been classed under the vulsions, and death. vene, in which case, general head of acrid vegetable poi- and local bleeding are to be sons ; but as they hare been resorted to, and other cooling rarely productive of accident, means. it has not been deemed neces- sary to insert them. (B.) Narcotic vegetable poisons, which act principally on the brain and nervous system. Papaver Somniferum Opium Laudanum. Aconitum Wolf s Bane. Belladona. Deadly Night Shade. Conium Maculatum Common Hemlock. Cicuta Virosa. Water Hem- lock. ^Bthusa Cynapium. Lesser Hemlock, Fool's Parsley. Hyoscyaiuus. Henbane. Datura Stramonium. Thorn Apple, Laura Cerusus. Common Laurel. Digitalis Purpurea Fox Glove Solannm Dulcamara. Woody Night Shade. Nicotiana Tabacum. Tobacco NHX Vomica. Cocculus Indicus. Distressing nausea followed by active vomiting, and gene- ral uneasiness about the sto- mach. Sense of numbness, stupor, pain and weight of the head, with feelings of intox- ication, great general distress and anxiety, delirium, dilated pupil, followed by coma, pal- sy, convulsions and death. Active vomits, followed by active purges ; after the ope- ration of which, (and not be- fore) acid drinks, as lemonade, vinegar and water, imperial and acid fruits, alternated with strong infusion of coffee, in the proportion of half a pound to a quart. Apopletic symptoms to be relieved by local bleeding, blisters, gene- ral frictions, and by every means that can rouse the ner- vous system. 254 SYNOPTICAL TABLE OP POISONS. SYMPTOMS. TREATMENT. POISONOUS MUSHROOMS. N ause a, sense of heat, weigh t and great pain in the stomach and intestines, followed by vomiting and cholera, fainting fits, delirium, stupor, cold sweats, and if not relieved, by death. Active vomits to be suc- ceeded by fa I doses of castor oil, or of epsom salts ; demul- cent drinks as in cantharides, fomentations, the warm bath, frequent doses o j tlie carbonate of ammonia and ether; and if inflammation supervene, ge- neral and local bleeding, and saline cooling remedies. PRUSSIC ACID. This acid, if taken beyond the smallest proportion, name- ly, a few drops, (and even that quantity endangers life, / produces instantaneous death. Active emetics, followed by full doses of oil of turpentine, ether, brandy, ammonia, blis- ters, frictions, and other sti- muli, calculated to rouse the nervoas system. MINERAL POISONS. These act by destroying the parts with which they come in contact, or so injuring them, that the more remote organs are fatally affected. (A.) METALLIC POISONS. A strong, metallic taste in An active emetic, the vom the mouth, with a sense of iting to be encouraged by co- bnrning heat in the throat, pious draughts of sugar and nausea, and violent retchings, water, milk, and other dernul- excessive burning and pain in the stomach and bowels, with cholera, and often a discharge of blood; sometimes a swel- ARSENIC. ^ D S tension and acute pain over the whole abdomen, great anxiety and distress in the countenance, excessive thirst, and a hot dry skin ; a small quick, and irregular pulse; coldness of the extremities, cold sweats,fainting fits, con- vulsions, and death. cent drinks as in cantharides. Lime water and chalk and wa- ter may also be drank freely, the bowels to be opened by castor oil ; and if inflammatory symptoms supervene, to be speedily treated by general and local bleeding, fomenta- tions, the warm bath, blisters, and saline cooling medicinei. MERCURY. Corrosive Sublimate. Very similar to those of arsenic. An active emetic, and im- mediately after, copious pro- portions of the whites of eggs beat up with milk or with wa- ter. Milk, linseed tea. barley water with gum arable, fol- lowed by a dose of cantor oil as in cantharides ; and in case of inflammation, general and local bleeding and blisters, according to the circumstances of the case. THE DIFFERENT POISONS. 255 POISONS. SYMPTOMS. TREATMENT. "SILVER. Nitrate of Silver, or Lunar Caustic. Very similar to the above two poisons. The same as for arsenic. A solution of common salt in one of the demulcent drinks, may also be given to decom- pose the poison. ANTIMONY. Emetic Tartar. The most distressing vo- miting and cholera, spasmod- ic constriction of the throat, excessive pain in the stomach and bowels, great prostration of strength.quick small pulse, hurried and anxious breathing, and if not relieved, death. First, large draughts of mild demulcents, as milk, barley water, linseed tea, &c. as in cantharides ; and next, decoc- tions of oak or willow bark, gall nuts, or very strvng tea, to decompose the poison ; and if vomiting be not allayed, full doses of opium. COPPER. Verdigris, Food cooked in fool copper vessels, or pickles made green by copper. Blue Vitriol. Acrid, coppery taste in the mouth, and coppery eructa- tions,constriction of thethroat, nausea, vomiting of a greenish matter, severe retching, great pain in the bowels with cho- lera, abdomen distended and painful, small pulse, cold per- spirations, convulsions, and and death. Large draughts of milk and water, aad other demulcent drinks as above. Sugar and water, whites of eggs beat up with water, and taken plenti- fully. Strong infusion of coffee made very sweet, afterwards free doses of opium ; and if inflammatory symptoms super- vene, to be treated by deple- tion, as before recommended. LEAD. Sugar of Lead. Goulard Water. White Lead. Red Lead. "Wines sweetened by Lead. A sugary, astringent, me- tallic taste, constriction of the throat, colicky pain in the sto- mach and bowels with obsti- nate obstruction, often severe vomitings, sometimes of blood, hiccup, convulsions, and death; or if the patient survive, fre- quently paralytic affections. Frequent doses of epsom salts in demulcent drinks, to promote vomiting and decom- pose the poison ; opiates, the warm bath, large doses of cas- tor oil with or without opium, until the obstruction be re- removed. Inflammatory symp- tom* to be treated accordingly. SULPHURIC ACID, Or, Oil of Vitriol. NITRIC ACID, Or, Aqua-fortis. MURIATIC ACID. Or, Spirit of Salt. OXALIC ACID, Or, Acid of Sugar. Any of the other mineral Acids taken to excess. (B.) ACID POISONS. Very sour taste and burning pain and heat in the mouth, throat, and down the whole alimentary canal ; fetid eruc- tations, vomiting of a bloody fluid which effervesces with chalk, or any of the alkalies; great pain in the stomach and bowels with bloody cholera, small irregular pulse, great thirst, tension of the abdomen, hiccup, cold perspirations, convulsions, and death. An ounce of calcined mag- nesia to be mixed in a quart of water, and a cupful to be taken every eight or ten mi- nutes. If not at hand, soap, or chalk and water, or weak- ened lime water. To be suc- ceeded by demulcent drinks, as in cantharides ; and if in- flammation supervene, by de- pletion. If the sulphuric acid has been taken, common mag- nesia and water is to be preferred to the calcined; and if oxalic acid,chalk and water. 256 SYNOPTICAL TABLE, &C. POISONS. SYMPTOMS. TREATMENT. ( POTASH. SODA. AMMONIA. Or, Volatile Alkali. ^C.) ALKALINE POISONS An alkaline caustic taste in the mouth, great burning pain in the mouth, throat, and sto- mach, nausea and vomiting of blood, cholera, sometimes of blood ; an acute pain in the abdomen andbowels, delirium, convulsions and death. Vinegar and water, lemon juice and water, and other vegetable acids taken freelj ; afterwards demulcent drinks, as in cantharides ; and if in- flammation come on, depletion and cooling medicines. LIME. BARYTES. (D.) ALKALINE EARTHS Violent vomitings, and cho- lera,great pain in the stomach and bowels, tension of the abdomen, vertigo, coma, pal- sy, convulsions, and death. Vinegar 'and other acids with water, followed by epsom or glauber salts, dissolved in a mucilaginous drink, and to be drank freely (E.) MISCELLANEOUS POISONS. NITRE, Or, Salt Petre. Severe pain in the stomach and bowels, nausea, active vo- miting, fainting fits, convul- sions, small pulse, cold ex- tremities, difficult breathing, delirium, pinched counte- nance, and death. Emetics and demulcent drinks as in cantharides ; fo- mentations ; and if inflamma- tion, to be treated as before recommended. MURIATE OF AMMONIA, Or, Sal Ammonia. Nearly the same as the preceding. The vomiting 'to be encou- raged by copious draughts of warm sugared water, demul- cent drinks, and afterwards the irritations to be allayed by opium. The inflammation.if any, to be treated accordingly. PHOSPHORUS. Very similar to those of corrosive sublimate, and the mineral acids, with a hot taste of garlic in the month. The vomiting to be encou- raged by large draughts of magnesia and warm water; and oil or fatty substances to be avoided. Demulcent drinks may be given as in canthari- des ; and inflammation to be subdued by suitable remedies, ALCOHOL. Brandy, and all spirituous liquors. Wine, and excess of fermented liquors of any kind. Intoxication, stupor, insen- sibility, with other symptoms of apoplexy. An active emetic, to be re- peated until the effect be pro- duced ; afterwards a full dose of epsom salts. If incapable of swallowing, the stomach pump to be used, and through that the proper medicines to be administered. Cold applications to the head, which should be raised high ; and if relief be not speedily obtained, the case to be treated as apoplexy. If the extremities be cold, warmth and friction to be used, and every means adopted to promote the circulation.* * For popular purposes, the above detail, we hope, will answer every useful end ; as it will enable individuals to act upon the emergency of the moment, when life may be preserved by a timely remedy administered in the first instance, and afterwards until medical advice can be called in. But should a more varied (though still compendious) account of the poisons be thought desirable, we can conscientiously recommend Stowe's Toxological Chart, and a very small pocket volume published by Cox and Son, in the Borough, under tbe denomination of Essay on Mineral, Animal, and Vegetable Poisons, to each of which we are indebted for much valuable information. LECTURE VI. THE HUMAN FACULTIES, MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. IN treating on the human faculties, I deeiri it incumbent on me to explain it is the fullest capa- bilities and the noblest propensities of man I propose to illustrate; in order that by compa- rison, we may account for the elevated rank which he holds in the creation, and for the distinguished superiority he has attained over every other part of the animal kingdom. His imperfections and his moral deficiencies, I shall refer to far more able commentators; and to the judgment of Him, who, alone knowing the different springs of human action, will no doubt consistently with his sense oj justice, make due allowances for the frailties inseparable from his nature; and without which he would be nearly upon a level with the Divinity himself. But before we proceed, 1 must trespass on your time, while I notice those circumstances in the natural world, through the operation of which, the human faculties are called into action ; 258 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, and which, independently of other important purposes, appear to have been placed in the way of man, to compensate him for the deficiencies which so obviously predominate in his natural character. Our experience has taught us that the world, as at present created, was not intended to give to man a negative place in its concerns; nor as, in the other parts of animated nature, simply to supply his wants as the necessities of the mo- ment suggested ; but that he should progressively, and by the dint of his own labour and ingenuity, discover the means, not only of obtaining sub- sistence, but also of occupying his mind in those various directions, that were to give character to his species; and by enlarging its powers, and increasing its knowledge, prepare him for the higher destinies which await him. The globe, therefore, has not been constructed internally upon those simple principles, which might have been sufficient for a more limited creation; nor are the animals and vegetables that adorn its surface, exclusively adapted to the mere preservation of life; but admit of a diver- sity of other applications, the operation of many of which, cannot be brought within any of the na- tural laws that we are acquainted with ; but require some superior agency to discover and call into use the capabilities of which they are susceptible. MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 259 Thus we find in the place of one homogeneous mass of which the crust of the globe appears to be composed, it is made up of a great variety of compound substances, capable of being applied by art and ingenuity to the most useful purposes ; without which, civilization could never have been effected, nor would those arts and sciences, that now adorn the human character, and from which have emanated so many important occupations, have ever been accomplished. The discovery of the more common metals, and the mode of working them, appear therefore to have been among the earliest of human ac- quirements; and this first gave rise to the inven- tion of implements for agricultural and other purposes; and the various cavities in the rocks which offered shelter to man, and the contrivances of the more ingenious animals, would naturally suggest to him, that with stones, or earthy mate- rials closely put together, a far more commodious retreat might be afforded him than from the sim- ple arrangement of stakes or the boughs of trees rudely arched over; to which, upon the emer- gency of the moment, he might at first have resorted. And hence, the origin of architecture. Thus, through his earliest necessities, he ac- quired a knowledge of some of the contents of the earth, and of the capabilities of which they are susceptible. And thus, as his wants increased, and as his taste improved, that knowledge was 260 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, progressively expanded and diversified until the arts have reached the perfection in which we now see them. In the vegetable world in all its varieties and to increase the supplies of which agriculture was called into use, how few of its species compara- tively do we find adapted to, or used for animal subsistence only ; limited to which they would have been, had they been created merely for thepreser- vation of the vital principles ? And what a large proportion, in all their diversified species and parts, have been converted by the ingenuity of man to the most comprehensive purposes; thus producing occupations most essential to his hap- piness, and calling forth his inventive faculties to the utmost limits of their power? Our hus- bandry, our habitations, our arts in general, our navigation, and our commerce, chiefly depend upon the human application of vegetable sub- stances according to their respective capabilities ; thus confirming, in the most ample degree, the innate faculties of man, and the intentions of the Creator, that these should be called forth from those resources in the natural world, which he has prepared for their especial developement. If we examine the animal kingdom, still more distinguished as it is for the variety of its species and for the diversity of their movements, we find the same capabilities of being useful to man, and the same incentive to human action, as in the MENTAL AND CORPOREAL, 261 other portions of the creation. For had not man's invention taught him the means of destroying, or of defending himself against the attacks of the offensive animals, his own species would soon have become extinct; and had he been ignorant of the mode of domesticating and calling into use the more timid ones, his food must have been limited to a vegetable diet, for which his consti- tution is not adapted ; his body would have lost its best covering; those animal substances, which, independently of food and clothing, now contri- bute to his commercial prosperity, would have been withheld; and deprived of those beasts of burden which, at present facilitate his operations far beyond the means of his own physical powers, and without which, his agriculture and his trade would have been of no avail; he soon would have lost the great incentive to action by which his influence in the creation is preserved, and he would have fallen a prey to the first ferocious animal which accident had placed in his track. Jf we advert to the agency of the aqueous part of the globe, and to the uses to which a knowledge of it has been applied; we have an equal illus- tration of the natural powers of the human mind, and of the necessities to which man was sub^ jected, in order that they should be called forth into useful activity. For water is not his natural element; and all animals, taken in their simple attributes (of which uninformed man may be 262 OF THE HUMAN FACULTIES, considered as one,) instinctively avoid what does not belong to their habits, or to which they have not been accustomed by the force of education. The ocean, therefore, in all its terrific grandeur and sublimity, would present to him, previously to the developement of his mental faculties, and to that experience which might arise out of the exercise of them, nothing but an object of sur- prise and terror; and the storms to which it was subject, and too frequently their consequences, would still add confirmation to his apprehensions. It would never have entered into his early con- templation, that this great mass of water contained within its boundaries, those vast supplies of food that now add variety to his table; and those saline particles, without the use of which no ani- mal food can be relished. That by evaporation, it produced those aqueous vapours, which, by irrigating the soil, promote its fertility, without which, his ordinary subsistence could not have been obtained ; or that its surface would be tra- versed by vessels of human construction, through the medium of which, communications would be opened with distant countries, from which the most important results might be derived. But he would only see in its aspect, a barrier to his excursive movements, and a threat that even this range of action (limited as it might be) would be still further contracted and reduced. The noble rivers, which in their passage to the MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 263 ocean, now collect the superfluous moisture of the soil, and by overflowing their banks irrigate it when become arid by previous evaporation, and which on various other accounts are so essential lo the conveniences of civilized man ; would in that case only appear to him so many additional obstacles to his movements, and the sources of personal danger or apprehension, when necessity drove him to their banks, or in the choice of two evils, to venture into their streams. But he was not intended to remain long in this simple state of ignorance. His intuitive faculties and his observation would soon teach him, that the danger might be obviated; and that-as large natural bodies were permitted to float on the surface of the water, some contrivance might be adopted by excavating those substances, (for working implements were of very early invention,) which would enable him to cross these streams, or to throw over them a more ready conveyance, which the surrounding forests would suggest to him as practicable. Hence the origin of boats, from which have emanated those noble vessels, that now so extensively navigate every sea to which human experience has afforded approach; ] and hence have been produced those beautiful edifices in the form of bridges, which open easy communication between parts of the country, many of which without them, would hardly have been rendered accessible. 264 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, Upon his becoming more familiar with the watery element, he would soon acquire a know^ ledge of obtaining that, which may now be con- sidered one of his first necessities, a supply of fish; and this would be greatly facilitated by his acquaintance with navigation, thus affording him access to parts where they were to be found in the greatest abundance; while his further expe- rience would teach him the use and preparation of salt, without which his food could not have been relished. The expansive power of steam from which so many important applications have resulted, though its discovery comparatively may be considered of recent date, may be adduced as another splendid proof of the operation of the natural elements on the human mind, and of the intention of the Creator that its faculties should be developed and exercised through their espe- cial agency. The atmosphere is the next portion of the creation to which we beg to call your attention, as confirmatory of the doctrine we wish to estab- lish; namely, that man is made up of capabilities only, and that these alone can be called into exercise through the medium of instruction, and of the external circumstances by which he is surrounded. Thus his earlier experience would teach him that animal life depended on atmospherical Agency, since the vital principle is immediately MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 265 destroyed when the air is withdrawn from the lungs. But he had not then acquired a know- ledge of the nature and proper ties of ibis substance, or even of its existence, but from the effects pro- duced ; much less the cause of its pressing upon other bodies, which, when not sufficiently re- sisted, put them in motion; thus suggesting the invention of sails for the purposes of naviga- tion, since brought to such perfection, and of windmills, now of the most comprehensive use. It was not be expected that the laws of this invisible agent should be understood during the early experience of mankind, it was conse- quently not until a vast collection of facts had been recorded, and the mind had made great progress in reasoning upon causes, it was finally ascertained, that the atmosphere was as much a substance as any tangible body, possessing elas- ticity, density, gravity, and fluidity ; that it was composed of two or three distinct ingredients chemically combined ; that it held in solution or in combination, various other substances, as the electric fluid, caloric, water, and terrestial exha- lations ; and that it entered into the composition of most other natural bodies ; from all which circumstances, new sciences have emanated, and a variety of the most useful instruments have been invented : which, explaining the causes of the various atmospherical phenomena, have increased human knowledge, and removed 266 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, from the mind those superstitious apprehensions, which many of them in former times had oc- casioned. Keeping in view the same principle, the hea- venly bodies, the last portion of the creation to be noticed, do not appear to have been formed merely to lighten the earth's surface, or to gratify a curiosity so naturally excited by the wonderful aspect which they present. At the earliest period, we find their situation and movements led uninformed man to observe them; and by their aid, to ascertain the means of traversing those trackless countries, which without it would long have remained unexplored; and ultimately to venture upon that ocean, which, in his primitive state, he would rather have fled from, than approached. Hence the origin of mathematical and physical sciences. But it was only under the slow operation of experience, assisted by the explanations of inge- nious men at different periods, that the laws of the planetary bodies, and the applications of which they are susceptible, have been brought to the perfection in which we now see them ; thus affording another characteristic proof of the means adopted by Providence to exercise the human faculties in the direction best calculated to render them useful. But independently of all these causes as con- tributing to the improvement of the human mind, MENTAL AND CORPOREAL 267 the physical peculiarities of man himself have had a wonderful effect in calling forth his intel- lectual faculties. We allude to his want of protection to his skin, and to the deficiency in his natural means of defence. There are few circumstances that so well illustrate the intention of the supreme Being, that man should depend upon his own resources, as the want of that covering and protection to his skin, which the necessities of his condition so urgently require. All other animals are provided in this particular according to their wants. To quadru- peds and birds, we find an ample covering has been given, suitable to the climate in which they are placed ; and which serves as a protection to their bodies, excepting where very extraordinary force has been applied. In the arctic regions, where excessive cold might destroy them, a thick, wooly coat, or a covering very similar, protects the quadruped against the inclemency of the weather; and a dense, close mass of plumage, which in many assumes a thick downy form, secures the feathery tribe from a similar incon- venience. In tropical climates, where the in- fluence of excessive heat is to be counteracted, the woolly coat of the former, is more frequently changed into a loose-hairy like covering, sufficient to ward off the sun's rays, but not so dense as to prevent that evaporation from the surface, so essential to carry off the superfluous heat from 268 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES the body. While to the latter is given alight thin plumage, most frequently to be distinguished by those beautiful and variegated colours, which, decomposing the rays of caloric and light, serve to migitate the prevailing heat of the climate. In fishes and reptiles, we find their skins well protected by thick and close scales in the one, and by a dense cuticle, or a shelly coat of mail, in the other; while the insect and smaller tribes have their skins completely incased, or if exter- nally less protected, their haunts are out of the reach of injury, or they find a ready retreat in proportion to the danger which assails them, But man is brought into the world a naked and defenceless creature, totally incapable of supplying his most common wants ; and for a considerable time after his birth, would perish from the inclemency of the weather, but for the protecting care of his own species ; while he is afterwards, during frequently a long life, depend- ent upon his own exertions, or upon those of his species, for the supplies and gratifications which so bountifully have been conferred upon every other part of the animal kingdom. To make up for this natural deficiency, his in- ventive powers are called into action ; and by instruction and experience, he not only acquires the means of protecting his person against the inconveniences of his own climate, but also, by his ingenuity, he contrives to adapt his constitu- MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 269 lion to that of any other country, to which his curiosity or his necessities may lead him. This together with his being omnivorous, by which he finds a supply of food wherever he may be situ- ated, renders him independent of circumstances, and gives him a place in opposite climates, where other animals, unaccustomed to the change, would degenerate, or perish in the attempt. But this is only one part of the benefit which man derives from being left to his own resources. For a knowledge of the means of contributing to ^personal conveniencies qualifies him to supply the wants of others under similar circumstances, in return for such commodities as the productions of each country and the ingenuity of the inhabi- tants may furnish; and thus by barter, he lays the foundation of an extensive commerce; and as to enable him to effect this, the materials must be obtained, agriculture and the arts are called into his aid, opening to him a new field for action, which, in his earlier state of knowledge, he had scarcely contemplated. The luxuriant foliage of Asiatic vegetation (for it was in Asia as we are informed that man was first brought into existence) would naturally sug- gest to him the use of leaves as the only means of protecting his skin against the inconveniences of the weather, until he had obtained the method of destroying such animals as he required for his use, or which might endanger his life by 270 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES. their attacks. Possessed of this knowledge, he would soon ascertain that their skins even in an undressed state would suit his purpose better than the flimsy covering of an assemblage of leaves; and advancing in acquirements, he would pro- gressively discover the means of preparing those skins so as to render them subservient to orna- mental as well as protective purposes. The mode of converting vegetable substances into simi- lar uses, by which flax and cotton have since been so variously applied, and afterwards of availing himself of the labours of the silk worm, were of course of much later dates; but they all serve to show the progress of the human mind from its earliest efforts, to a period when a taste for luxury had increased its energies to a degree of which, comparatively, we could have hardly supposed it susceptible. Thus our woollen, cotton, linen, and silk manufactures, with all their appropriate machin- ery, have each originated in the necessity in which man was placed to provide himself with clothing; and this he could not have effected, had not his attention been directed to the arts and to agriculture; though the attainment of other very important objects, have intermingled themselves with those pursuits. The same observations which apply to the want of clothing, are also referable to the deficiency in the means ot defence. All other MENTAL AND CORPOREAL 271 animals have been provided from the natural structure of their frame, and from their habits with the intuitive means of defending them- selves against their enemies. But had man trusted to his physical powers only, his race would soon have been extinct. For inferior in strength and swiftness to a large proportion, and in his structure, having no means of destroying the the more ferocious animals, he could neither have resisted, nor fled from their attacks; but must soon have fallen a prey to such of them, whose thirst of blood might render him an object of their conquest. For this deficiency of natural defence, he is amply compensated, by his talent for stratagem, or by the force of his genius; thus affording proofs the most incontestible, of the superiority of intellect over physical force, however threat- ening its aspect, or well directed its energies. His hands being the principal means by which his actions are produced, these would have been of no avail to him even with the co-oper- ation of his feet, had he not by his own invention constructed instruments, which, under his judici- ous direction, few animals could resist ; or brought under his controul some swifter animal, through whose fleet exertions he could fly from the attack. The forest, in the first instance, would natu- rally suggest to him the source from which these instruments were to be derived ; and hence the 272 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, early use of clubs, and bows and arrows ; but as he soon became acquainted with the working of metals, and iron being the most abundant, he would thence learn to manufacture out of that mineral the means by which he could still more effectually attack his opponents, or divide the flesh of such animals as he destroyed for his own subsistence ; and this gave rise to the invention of spears, swords, and knives. Thus from acquiring a knowledge of defending himself against his natural enemies, and of sup- plying himself with the animal food which his constitution required, he gradually learned also to attack and defend himself against those of his own species, to whom he might voluntarily or accidentally be opposed ; which eventually led to the discovery of gunpowder, cannon, and fire arms, as well as to the erection of those forts and castles, through the agency of all which, so many important events have since occurred. And thus from the original helplessness of man, and from the inventions to which that has given rise* our most valuable manufactures, and our arts in general, have reached a perfection, to which, without those excitements, they could never have attained. Having adverted to those circumstances in the creation which appear to have been intended to develope and call forth the intellectual faculties of man, we shall now take into consideration MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 273 those particular attributes of his nature, physical, intellectual, moral, and religious, by which he is io be distinguished from every other part of the animal kingdom. In his physical capacity, (the first for consi- deration,) we find man endued with faculties that belong to no other animal ; and which afford- ing a most comprehensive scope for the operation of his intellectual powers, bestow on him of themselves, a vast superiority over the rest of the creation. These faculties are derived from the peculiarity of his external form and his attitude, which give him an almost unlimited command over his muscular actions; his internal structure, and his organs of sense not differing so materially from other animals, as to require a separate notice. Had our time permitted, in addition to our ac- count of the physicalcircumstances of man as above alluded to, we might have extended our observa- tions to the muscles of his face, and to his features in general, by which his various feelings and pas- sions are expressed, and through whose agency, so much of the human character may be under- stood ; as well as to the increased quantity of his brain, in proportion to the size of his nerves, upon which so many important, distinct, and complicated actions depend. And we could have noticed in the brute animal, the marked T 274 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, flatness of the upper surface of the head, with a corresponding diminution of the cerebral hemis- pheres, and the much greater magnitude of the face in proportion to the other parts of the head, by which the latter is most satisfactorily to be distinguished from the human species. But the subject is too comprehensive to em- brace in one short view the whole of its interest- ing particulars; and I fear as it is, we shall have encroached too long on your patience in the detail of those parts of it which we have deemed to be of the greatest importance. As it seems intended, that the subordinate animals should move in a limited sphere, and that their enjoyments should be confined to their physical necessities; it is has been ordained, that their vision be chiefly directed to the objects before them, which requiring little elevation for attainment, an erect posture was not necessary for the part which they had to act. But man, to whom the whole universe was to be open to his observation, required an upright attitude that he might survey the surrounding objects above and below him, as suited his fancy, or as the circumstances of his case should re- quire. It is this commanding attitude which endues him with so much influence over the other parts of the creation ; and from its novelty, and from the extensive action it admits, strikes terror among, or commands the affection of other MENTAL AND- COBPOREAL. 275 animals, many of whom, were they conscious of their own physical power and degradation* would never submit to his controul. From this important attitude also, he is enabled to investigate the different parts of the universe, celestial, and terrestial, and assisted by his in- tellect, to ascertain the principles by which they are regulated, and the effects likely to be pro* duced ; and from the same source, he can per- form actions, and from those actions produce consequences, which no other animal can accom- plish ; Providence, therefore, has not left this property in man open to chance, or to human contrivance; but from the arch-like form of the human spine, from the great width of the pelvis and through that the extension outward of the thigh bones, from the increased bulk of the mus- cles of the lower extremities, and from the form and complete flatness of the foot, it has made it an invariable law from which it is not in man's power to deviate, that his position should be erect; and he consequently is by nature a biped animal only, distinct in his atti- tude and actions from every other part of the creation. For though the flexibility of his body admit of his moving upon his hands and feet for a short time like the quadruped, yet from the shortness of his arms in proportion to his lower extremities, in which by far the greatest muscular power is vested, he soon tinds it necessary to 276 OF THE HUMAN FACULTIES, restore the equilibrium of his body, by returning to the erect position, through which alone, his natural movements can be performed. We see this proneness to assume the vertical position, even in the infant age of man ; when we may observe those children, in whom an in- crease of muscular power and of bony firmness have prepared them for the attempt, constantly exerting themselves to acquire the erect attitude; and if left to themselves, as they ought to be, they progressively, though effectually, accomplish their object, without the risk of producing those distor- tions and consequent bad health, too often the consequence of a premature attempt to effect the same attainment by artificial means. The awkward sitting posture, assumed by the ape families, and natural to the kangaroo tribes, which have been adduced as instances in which the brute animal can acquire the vertical position, admits of no comparison with the bold, firm, and erect attitude of man ; nor do it confer upon them the same power of action, which belongs to the human species. In the ape families, it is prin- cipally the result of education and example; and being unnatural, cannot be long continued with- out a frequent reference to the horizontal position. In the kangaroo, it admits of no other motion but that of bounding or leaping forward; and the pos- ture being a sitting one, the foot, so important to the human attitude, has no share in its production. MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 277 But independently of his erect position, in what animal do we observe such a variety of move- ments to which his external structure in general contributes, as in man? So much flexibility of body, such an extension and contraction of bis limbs, and so dignified a deportment in his whole frame, when circumstances call forth the feeling to produce it ? In the acquirements of dancing and of fencing, in wrestling and in tumbling, in his pugilistic attitudes, and in the evolutions he can perform while under military exercise all these diversities of actions and of attitudes, are most amply illustrated; and though several may be of little importance in themselves, yet, from the capabilities of action they afford, they confer great advantages in particular situations, where his safety or the attainment of his object may depend upon bodily exertions, or upon the diver- sity of his attitudes and actions. In the movement of his extremities, man has resources such as no animal in nature can imi- tate. By one motion of his lower extremities, assisted by his body, he can instantly face an object or turn his back to it, meet it on one side or the other, or alter his direction in any way he pleases, within the space of one or two seconds. He can walk longer upon the average than any other animal ; and even in running, contend the palm of victory with most of them, for a few paces ; while in muscular strength, he 278 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, can raise, draw, and support much greater weights than any animal of the same size with himself. But if the body and extremities generally admit of such diversified movements, what may not he expected separately from those best instruments of the mind, the human hands, whose structure and situation mark them out for so many useful applications ? Other animals from their horizontal attitude, and from the limitation of their wants, can dis- pense with the use of hands, since a supply of food being their principal necessity, and this being usually within reach of their mouths, they can always obtain it by the agency of their teeth, assisted in some animals by their claws. But man, from his erect attitude, cannot procure his food in the same way; and from the mixed nature of his diet and the culinary process and minuter division it has to undergo before it be suitable to his digestion, he would perish had he not his hands to prepare, divide, and convey it into his mouth, as his necessities require ; and this circumstance alone confers on him a physical attribute distinct from all other animals. But it is not his common natural wants only, which the hands of men were intended to supply; but a comprehensive variety of artificial ones, which the progress of society and of human im- provements, have rendered necessary to his hap- piness, and from long established habits, even to his very existence. When we consider all those MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 279 actions in which the hands alone are concerned, as connected with our agriculture, our architec- ture, our navigation, and our arts in all their applications, domestic, and general ; embracing those numerous articles of luxury which long established habits have rendered almost indis- pensible, and the various instruments of offence and defence ; the bold execution and vast mag- nitude of some, and the extreme minuteness and ingenious adjustment of others ; we may readily anticipate how helpless man would have been without these important agents, and how trifling and how insignificant are the manual qualifica- tions of the qnadrumanous animals, even when the structure of their hands would appear to im- ply much greater capabilities than we find them actually to possess. The hands, therefore, pre- sent one of the most striking physical attributes by which man is to be distinguished from the rest of the animal kingdom. We should now have proceeded to the intel- lectual attributes of the human species, had not a subject presented itself, which, from its partaking equally of an intellectual and organic character, has rendered it difficult to be determined under what head it shall be placed. We allude to the attribute of speech, one of the noblest qualities bestowed on man. Experience has taught us, that this very com- prehensive power, depends upon the co-operation 380 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES of the voice and tongue, called into action by the dictate of the will ; and that, as applied by man, it is a property possessed by no other animal. But we cannot so easily explain, from the structure of the parts, (that is, in a physical sense) why man should be so endowed ; since admitting all the perfection bestowed on human mechanism, yet we do not see that great difference in this instance which should prevent the brute species (some of them at least) from expressing their ideas by language, with as much facility as man. We must, therefore, look to some other source to explain this phenomenon ; and we shall find it depends upon example in the first instance* leading to mechanical imitation; and next, upon intellectual comparison and association of words with things, assisted by education and subsequent experience. All animals, more especially of the class to which man belongs, possess the means through monotonous tones, ot expressing their ordinary feelings, and apparently of conveying them to those of their own species, so as to be under- stood ; and in the bird class, we see instances, where, by instruction, distinct words, and even many sentences can be articulated, so as to be mistaken for human utterance. But we have no instance, so far as our judgment can decide, but in man, where a mutual communication of varied and separate ideas can be effected through MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. , 281 the medium of language. To him therefore this blessed attribute exclusively belongs, and which in itself points out the line of distinction between man and all other animals. Had it been denied to him, of what avail would have been those other noble qualities which have been so bene- volently implanted in his nature? They would only have rendered him more sensible of the forlornness of his situation, by depriving him of that mutual communication of ideas from which alone the best friendships of his nature are deri- ved ; by which the confidence between man and man is preserved, and his wants reciprocally expressed, and supplied ; the mind is expanded in every direction that can call forth its energies, or enlarge its powers; and through whose agency, the bonds of society are kept in that due tone, by which alone the moral principle can preserve its influence, amidst the opposing conflict of human passions. But if man has derived so much consequence from the attributes we have already detailed, how much higher does he rank, and with what in- creased dignity does he not appear, when the fa- culties of his mind in all their comprehensiveness, are contemplated; when his moral qualities are found to give tone to the actions, which his intel- lect suggest; and when his mental and moral attributes combine (independently of a religious feeling natural to man) to produce those elevated 282 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, sentiments, which losing sight of all worldly con- siderations, teach him to acknowledge a superior, protecting power, to whom he owes obedience and veneration, and to perform the duties which such an acknowledgement necessarily inculcates. These combined circumstances mark out man to be distinct from all other animals. For though we may allow a limited portion of intellect to the brute species, in which, independently of instinc- tive impulse, some reflection, much sagacity, and in many instances, (in so far as the physical necessities of the animal are concerned) great ingentfity are to observed ; yet the total ab- sence of all moral and religious feeling in such animals, at once remove from them every ap- proach to equality with man, even had their physical structure without one deviation corres- ponded with that of human frame. The brute species we know require only growth to call into action all their respective attributes, of which very many of them, are in full pos- session, from the moment they are first brought into existence. No education therefore is neces- sary ; food and common protection when re- quired, are all that is wanting, to answer their limited ends. Man, on the contrary, is born under circum- stances directly opposite. For his entrance into life, is not only marked by the most utter help- Jessness, and a total insensibility to all external MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 283 agents; but he is obliged to pass through a long intellectual minority, and to be subject to unre- mitting, and rigid moral discipline, before he be fully prepared to act for himself. x We accordingly find, that contrary to other animals in which the organs of sense are very early developed, his birth is distinguished by no otherphenotnenon, than the ordinary appearances of vitality. He can neither hear, see, nor know where to find his food, and only very partially (if at all) feel the application of external substan- ces ; the crying, upon the admission of air into his lungs, being only an instinctive action to promote their expansion ; while before any of the above faculties are discovered, a variety of other animals have reached their fullest degree of perfection. As he advances in growth and strength, vision begins to open to him the surrounding objects, and light and colours attract his attention, but without any consciousness of their distinction, or of the cause of the amusement they afford him. His taste, before indifferent to the flavour of any substance, now begins to teach him to reject the nauseous and to prefer the palatable ; and his sense of hearing, at first deaf to every noise, awakens his attention to sounds, the louder the more attractive ; while he soon becomes feelingly alive to the painful sensations which mechanical applications, or internal causes, may produce. 2S4 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, Thus his perceptive faculties being progres- sively developed, he is gradually prepared for a more enlarged observation, and for a new train of feelings ; and he soon learns to display a prefer- ence for, or a dislike to those things, sounds, and sights, which at first had only in a general degree, excited his curiosity. As he advances, a taste for imitation discovers itself; and he not only endeavours to take off those by whom he is surrounded, but learns from them a few of the words, which he so often has heard repeated ; but at first, more from their sound, than from a knowledge of their meaning ; and it is only by very slow degrees that he at last comprehends their signification. It is about this period, that those selfish passions begin to bud, which, naturally engrafted on the constitution, are so often in future life, (if not early corrected,) productive of the most mischie- vous consequences ; and as good is most fre- quently intermixed with evil, it is now we observe, in embryo only, those finer affections and kindly feelings, which afterwards are connected with the noblest sentiments and best propensities of his nature. As the strength advances, the common use of the limbs becomes fully established, the speech is perfect, and a few of the symbols of language are comprehended ; while curiosity is still further awakened, and a desire to see things, ends in a MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 285 request to know their structure and use. The memory now improves, and a knowledge of right and wrong, with the fear of punishment, and the love of reward, altogether prepare the mind for a more active dicipline, and an enlarged in- struction. In a few years, full boyhood commences ; the physical powers have acquired sufficient stability to admit of very active bodily exercise ; the moral duties (however occasionally opposed by per- verseness,) are better understood ; the mind receives with readiness and retains many of those multiplied ideas, which are afterwards to be practically applied ; and a desire for knowledge (though limited in its objects,) bespeak the pro- gress of the understanding, and the mental ex- citements which early practice had produced. This stage of coercion and instruction is gradu- ally preparing the mind for nobler attributes, and for much greater achievements. The years advance at last into early manhood, when the passions take a new direction, and produce a train of actions very different from those of more youthful days ; and though the mind, at this period, be too little under the con- troul of the judgment, yet its comprehensive faculties, and the energy by which they are directed, at once evince the increase of its powers, the result of an improved constitution and pre- viously mental exercise. 86 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, The passions at this period are strong, and impatient of controul, giving a tone to propen- sities, which, in some, lead to the most disastrous consequences, in others, to highly beneficial results to noble and disinterested actions, or to gratifications the most base and selfish to bold and successful enterprise, or to speculations which carry upon the very face of them nothing but ruin and desolation to dignified friendships and attachments, or to connections that entail disgrace and misery upon the parties for the remainder of their lives. In his intellectual capacity, now fitted for any undertaking, emulation urges on the youthful man to excel in those arts and sciences, and in those professions, in which fame is to be derived or rank to be obtained, emolument to be pro- cured, or his own immediate gratifications to be indulged ; and the world being open to him, he boldly enters into its concerns, too often regard- less of its consequences, and regulates his pur- suits according to the object in view, however difficult that object may be, or dangerous in the attainment ; and it is only when his judgment begins to operate, that he discovers the necessity of conforming to the circumstances of his situa- tion. Thus at this early age, we see great capa- bilities, with a weak application of the reasoning powers ; bold conceptions and great inventive resources, but a deficient judgment] to conduct those qualifications to an useful end. MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 287 In his moral and religious duties, (though well instructed,) his passions too often throw a shade over his better propensities, and suspend their operation until a more matured judgment' and increased experience convince him of his error. When that period arrives, he has reached the perfected state of manhood in all its attributes and comprehensiveness ; when long previous mental exercise and diversified human actions, combine with constitutional strength, to impart that tone to his character, from which his best and most useful efforts are to be derived. His passions and propensities now, unless some predominant impulse interpose, are rendered subservient to those plans upon which his future success in life is made to depend ; and these urge him on with a firmness and consistency, in which in his earlier life, he was by no means sus- ceptible, i Nothing now appears too difficult to attempt, no phenomenon too deep for investigation ; and his skill and ingenuity being called on to plan, and his reasoning upon causes and effects to de- cide upon a measure; he vigorously pursues whatever he determines upon, until it be fully accomplished. As proofs of the versatility of his talents, we need only advert to the very opposite pursuits to which he now can direct his attention. If agriculture be the object, with what assiduity 288 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, does he acquaint himself with the quality of the different soils, with the improvement of which they are susceptible, and with the materials and labour by which that improvement is to be ef- fected ! How judiciously he selects the suitable seeds, and by measured step, commits them to the earth, so as, in due season, to vegetate in equal proportions throughout the whole of the space to which they have been applied ! How many im- plements has he invented, and animals domes- ticated, to facilitate and give effect to this most useful of occupations ; and what attention has he not paid, and labour bestowed, to turn to profit- able account the several branches of which it is composed I Should his attention be directed to the arts, his physical and intellectual capacities are still more comprehensively called into action. For great strength and labour are required to manufac- ture the more bulky articles, much nicety and dis- crimination in the construction of those which are complicated ; while his best resources are exerted to find out and prepare new materials, to keep pace with the improvements, which increased knowledge is constantly effecting. Thus not satisfied with the various productions of the surface or the earth, he must examine its internal contents also, by penetrating into its depths, and bringing up to his use, a variety of substances, of which no application can be made MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 289 until they have undergone hisfurther investigation, and submitted to those processes necessary to render them susceptible of useful purposes. But still even these are not sufficient to supply all the wants, which his active mind is constantly creating ; or to keep pace with the numerous inventions, to which the fertile ingenuity and emulation of his competitors give rise. Foreign countries must be explored to find out new articles, by which his varying arts are to be perfected and increased; and the contrivances of other nations are to be consulted, to ascertain how far they will admit of such modifications or improvements, as may afford a greater scope for his own inventive faculties. In possession of all these various means, what vast and comprehensive results have not been the consequence? Noble and magnificent edifices, upon very many of which, the long hand of time has made no impression, bespeak the grandeur of his de- signs, and the industry and labour bestowed on their execution. Stately vessels, complete in all their parts, and equipped with everv requisite, traverse the ocean in all directions; and by the exactness and security with which they perform voyages the most distant and dangerous, evince the ingenuity displayed in their construction, and the accuracy and the nicety with which the effects to be produced, have been calculated. u ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, In a still higher degree are the inventive facul- ties illustrated, in the mechanism of those finer pieces of workmanship, in which the greatest skill is required for the formation of their several parts, and the nicest adjustment in their application, to qualify them to answer the intended purpose, of which the improved chronometer is a splendid example ; and if to these, we add the other various discoveries and inventions that from time to time have been made, and the useful applica- tions to which they have been adapted the first formation of letters, by which the art of writing was produced the manufacture of gunpowder, cannon, and small fire arms, with the science and art of war, as at present practised the discovery of the mariner's compass, and the improvements in navigation in all its branches the art of print- ing the invention of clocks and watches, of the barometer, thermometer, and of magnifying glasses, by which defective vision is obviated, and (as in the microscope) the minuter objects of nature can be demonstrated the discovery of the circulation of the blood, of the laws of gra- vitation, and the causes of the tides the estab- lishment of the Copernican or solar system, and the improvements which astronomy has derived from the invention of telescopes the mechanism of mill and other machinery the expansive and impelling power of steam, with all its diversified applications the lighting of our houses and MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 291 streets with hydrogen gas and a long list of other inventions and contrivances to which the above discoveries have given rise; we are pre- sented with such a phala s nx of diversified talents and of mental resources, as must for ever dissolve the chain that would link together man with the other portions of the animal kingdom, and deny the propriety of associating any of the brute tribes, in the same order with the human species. From the application of the arts, man is neces- sarily led to the pursuits of commerce, in which he never fails to render subservient the inven- tive faculties of others, to the boldness of his own comprehensive speculations ; and while a rigid integrity, the chief prop of his credit, and great personal generosity are displayed, (we speak of the British merchant,) a deep prospect of gain intermixes with all his actions, and com- bined with a systematic knowledge of business, and a wordly acquaintance with mankind, stamp upon him a character peculiarly his own. Through his instrumentality, the ocean is traversed in all directions by vessels conveying to their destined ports the productions of every part of the globe, and opening communications between countries as remotely situated, as opposed to each other in physical constitution, habits, and language. And from his comprehensive transactions, our navi- gation and our manufactures derive their chief impulse, and our necessities and luxuries are fur- 292 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, nished to us upon a scale, which, without his exertions, would be very limited indeed. If the profession of arms be his object, how readily does he acquire the military character, the attitude erect, the bold and commanding step not to be mistaken! And with what application does he direct his attention to the study of the science in all its branches and ramifications, the the various modes of attack and defence, of ad- vance and retreat, of lying in ambush to surprise, and in forming well concerted plans to deceive his enemy, in providing for all the contingencies of a campaign, or in guarding against the con- sequences which too often succeed its close ! In the practical part, to what discipline does he submit, and with what geometrical precision does he perform those various evolutions and movements, which modern warfare has rendered necessary to success! How reconciled to fatigue and privations on the march against the enemy ; how steadily bold and daring in the field of action, and with what reluctance does he quit it, when the chances of war have denied him the hope of victory ! In his naval capacity again, we find man as- suming altogether a new character, and acquiring a knowledge totally opposed to every circum- stance, which his former experience had opened to his view. Thus, from the effect of association, he attains a rough exterior, and a dry vein of MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 293 humour, combined with a kind heart, a gene- rous disposition, and a thoughtless indifference to what others consider of importance, or to that which immediately regards his own personal advantage. With these attributes, and a romantic love of change, he pursues his occupation; and in the midst of dangers, to others the rnostappal- ing, he performs a most hazardous duty, unruffled by the threats of the elements, or by the rocks and shoals by which he is -so often SUITL a.ded. In the management of his vessel, (for we speak of the profession generally) what skill does he dis- play, so that by the conjoint operation of the rudder and sail, she can resist the undue influence of the wind, and pursue her course, as near to it as human art can place her! With what nicety does he not make his astronomical observations correspond with his calculation of distances and time, so that by a knowledge of the latitudes and longitudes of places, she shall reach her destined port with an accuracy truly wonderful ! And in the hour of battle, where do we see more skill displayed in the mode of attack, or more steady courage evinced, or greater exertion bestowed, when directly in contact with the enemy ? In pursuit of the learned professions, we ob- serve the progress of the human intellect still more exquisitely marked ; for in these, the mind losing sight of ordinary considerations, acquires new dignity, and an enlarged scope of action. 294 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, Deep study and intense application to the subject, the acquirement of ancient and modern know- ledge, a familiarity with the physical and moral constitution of man, and a minute investigation of those principles which are to form the basis of future practice, all mark the intellectual labour bestowed on those very important pursuits ; and which, gradually furnishing the mind with useful knowledge, and the most comprehensive re- sources, are productive of talents the most bril- liant, and in their practical effects, the most beneficial, of any perhaps to which the human mind can be directed. But it is in metaphysical disquisitions, and in scientific research, where all the reasoning pow- ers are called into their fullest activity, that the human intellect appears to have reached its highest degree of perfection. Thus the whole scope of nature being open to man's view, he investigates her various works with a scrutinizing eye, the situation and struc- ture of each portion, the relative action upon each other, the probable causes by which these effects are produced, and the practical uses to which each minuter part can be applied. To promote his researches, he calls into his, aid various systems or sciences of his own inven- tion indeed, but which, being founded upon the immutable laws of nature, evince the comprehen- siveness of his designs, and the genius by whicfy they are directed. MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 295 Among the most important of these may be mentioned mathematics ; which teach him to calculate numbers, quantities, magnitudes, and distances, with an accuracy never to be ques- tioned, and irresistibly impress on his mind, that in all investigations, the emanation of truth is to be his primary object, and that this can only be accomplished by a judicious arrange- ment of his ideas, the closest application to the subject, and a just comparison of things as they present themselves to his notice. Thus by a knowledge of this interesting science, numerical questions have been answered, pro- blems solved, and calculations made, that with- out it, never could have been accomplished. While not only the dimensions of the globe and of its several parts have been accurately ascer- tained ; but (as we have before hinted,) the laws of space, magnitude, and quantity, as well sepa- rately as relatively, have been laid down with a precision, that, independently of their practical importance, bespeak an advance of intellect, and a degree of industry, most truly astonishing. With mathematics as a basis, man is also pre- pared to enter upon these sciences, which practi- cally explain the laws by which each proportion of the universe is regulated ; and thus to descend to the minutiae of things, which, before, he had only viewed in the outline. Thus by the science of astronomy, he is enabled with wonderful accuracy, to determine the situ- 296 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, ation, and comparative magnitude, and distances of the planetary bodies, their motions round their grand centre of attraction, the sun, and in the circles of their own orbits; and to predict with unfailing nicety, and certainty, the period and duration of the eclipses, to which, in the variation of their relative positions, they are occasionally liable; to remove the superstitious apprehensions entertained in former times, upon the sudden ap- pearance of cornets, by demonstrating their tracks among the other heavenly bodies, in their appmach to, and recession from, the sun, while performing their own revolutions ; and that, like the planets, they are opake bodies, deriving their lustre from that great luminary ; to explain the phases, or changes of the moon, the causes of the alternation of nights and days, and of the variations of the seasons ; the doctrine of the tides, and the laws of gravitation ; to lay down with accuracy, the latitude, and longitude of each place throughout the globe ; and to make those improvements in navigation, which early mankind could never have deemed prac- ticable. By the science of geology, the structure of the crust of the globe, its different strata, its volcanoes, and other phenomena have been ex- plained ; and the great deluge to which the earth had formerly been exposed, satisfactorily accounted for. By hydrology, the doctrine of the ocean MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 297 and of water in general, and by pneumatics and meteorology, the properties of the atmosphere, its extraneous particles as derived from the elec- tric fluid, caloric, humidity, and terrestrial exha- lations, have been clearly illustrated. By natural history generally, the external dis- tinction and character of animals, vegetables, and minerals, have been broughtto his comprehension; and by chemistry, the next in importance to ma- thematics, the constituent parts of matter, their relative action upon each other, and the pheno- mena which those actions produce, have been rendered familiar to the most common under- standing. From the science of mechanics, man has learnt the principles by which the moving powers are regulated, so as to give an impulse to, or render quiescent, inanimate bodies, by the agency of which, our various machinery, and most of our mechanical contrivances are governed ; and out of this most useful science have emanated, a va- riety of inventions most important to the arts, and to society in general. But the human mind is not satisfied with inves- tigating the laws of natural bodies only, but it must inquire into its own resources also, its lead- ing phenomena, and how far its spiritual is con- nected with its material portion; and tiiis inquiry has gradually led to the contemplation of the supreme Being himself, his various attributes, his probable nature, how far and to what extent he 298 OF THE HUMAN FACULTIES, influences the moral world, and by a comparison of mans real condition, with his possible one, what degree we shall bear to him in that future state to which we are all looking forward. But here the understanding receives a check, that from its far advanced, and still advancing state, the mind might not be quite so prepared to anticipate. It is true, in the structure of the universe we see a wonderful piece of machinery, com- posed of a variety of parts, each by different means working its own useful ends, but yet con- tributing to the general harmony of the whole. We observe also in the natural world at least, that no effects can le produced without some primary cause, and we consequently and most justly conclude, that this beautiful contrivance must have some superior agent to give an impulse to its various movements. But as the source of all these effects has never been seen, or commu- nicated with by us, we can neither decide upon its form, its situation in the universe, nor in what manner it acts. We only know from the results its power far exceeds our own ; that we ourselves are but a small and subordinate part of a system regulated entirely by its superior agency ; and that as we command obedience from those parts of the creation placed under our controul, so is submission due from us to that higher autho- rity > at whose disposal all sublunary things appear to be subservient. Thus disappointed in the pursuit of a know- MENTAL AND COBPOREAL. ledge which the divine hand (no doubt for the wisest of purposes) has withheld from his com- prehension, man has more rationally directed his attention to the science of the human mind, as derived from experience ; and investigating the powers of the understanding with the moral results, the tendency and influence of the pas- sions, and the controul over them which religion has established ; he has displayed that erudition and research, and that knowledge of the human mind in all its intricacies, that at once stamp upon his character intellectual attributes of the highest order, and such as the most fastidious sceptic can never impugn. In confirmation of this, the writings of our own distinguished coun- trymen, independently of those of other nations, afford the most illustrious examples. Having endeavoured to trace the progress of the human intellect from its earliest dawn to the highest degree of perfection to which it appears to have reached, and to shew that the latter is rarely attained, but by education and long ex- perience ; it would be imposing on the under- standings of this enlightened assembly, to deem it necessary to draw a comparative distinction between the intellectual attributes of man and the brute species, or to suppose for one moment that they are only shades or approximations of one and the same system. I shall, therefore, with- out further comment, proceed to the moral and 300 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, religious qualities of our species, with which we propose to conclude our lecture. I had occasion to notice in the early part of my discourse, that for very wise purposes, all animals, excepting man, were born with the attributes adapted to their particular nature; and which, consisting merely of those common actions essential to their vital existence, required only physical strength and growth to call them into their fullest activity. That man, on the contrary, brought nothing into the world but capabilities ; and that these, if not exercised by the instruction of others, and by his own industry, the purposes of his creation would have been altogether nuga- tory. Thus from his birth and for a very con- siderable period afterwards, being made to depend upon the assistance of those by whom he was brought into life, this could hot have been effec- tually afforded him, without submission on his part; and thus man from his cradle may be con- sidered as commencing that course of morality, which, improving as he advances, was to influ- ence every action of his future life. Obedience, therefore, and the controul of his passions, were the first rules he was taught; and out of these were to emanate the love, respect, and gratitude due to those protecting benefactors, through whose kindness all the blessings he enjoyed were to be derived; and afterwards goodwill and integrity towards others, from whom minor bene- MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 301 fits might be received, or who formed a part of the society in which he was placed. As the reasoning faculties improved, his own feelings, independently of religious instruction so well calculated to strengthen them, would combine with the dignified pride of his nature to suggest to him the propriety of enlarging upon those duties which had been inculcated in early life ; until becoming a habit, formed when the most lasting impressions are received, he gradu* ally acquired ail those moral propensities, which properly directed, are the brightest gems which adorn his character. Thus in what animal, but in man, do we see the parental affections continued, after the neces- sity of them has ceased; or where is to be found the love of collateral relations, or the disinter- ested friendships of earlier intercourse, often only to be dissolved by death, but in the human spe- cies ! See with what rigid integrity, in all the relations of life, does man frequently regulate his conduct, not to be shaken under temptations the most seductive, or motives the most urgent and plausible ; and how tenacious is he, even at the risk of his life, of his moral rectitude, when un- justly impeached, or even for one moment sus- pected ! What a distinctive part of his character are those kindly feelings, which, dictated by humanity, call forth a protecting consideration, not only for his own species, but also for the animal kingdom in general ; or which induce 302 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, him to make great personal sacrifices, and even to incur bodily risk, to save an individual to whom he is otherwise indifferent, or even a poor animal from destruction! With what assiduity does he not attend, arid how many acts of kindness be- stow, upon his friend or neighbour on the bed of sickness, or when mental affection stands in need of his assistance and consolation ? With what submission and respect does he not bend to those laws, though often interfering with his best inte- rests, which the welfare of society has rendered necessary ; and what a tone has his moral educa- tion given to his manners and social habits, pro- ducing urbanity and dignified courtesy in the one instance, and hospitality and good-will to his neighbour in the other ! These are but few of the moral attributes which belong exclusively to man, and which bring him as near to the Divinity, as, in our humble state and ignorance, we dare to place him. And though they be the result of education and expe- rience, acting upon the susceptibilities of his nature, and increased no doubt and rendered per- manent by the reflection peculiar to the mind of man ; yet they do not the less indicate that divine influence, from which the best of human actions derive their tone ; and without whose agency, morality would be as fluctuating and as variable as the passions, which the practice of it, is calcu- lated to controul. We are now arrived at the last subject for con- MENTAL AND CORPOREAL. 303 sideration the religious attributes of man ; in the treatment of which, it would not become us in this place to comment upon any particular faith or doctrine ; the line chalked out for us being merely an illustration how far generally a religious feeling predominates in the human mind. The physical capacities of man we have had occasion to notice, depend upon the structure of his frame and upon accidental circumstances, which call forth those energies of which, from constitutional causes, he is naturally susceptible. His moral qualities arise from education and worldly experience, strengthened and confirmed by religion, but not originating in that source ; and his intellectual ones, partly from instruction, but principally from the necessities and circum- stances under which he is individually placed. His religious attributes are exclusively of native origin, which independently of all contingencies, have been implanted in the mind of man tcrbe his monitor and guide, under all the temptations to which, from his physical propensities, he is naturally exposed ; and only requiring the exer- cise of his mental faculties, to call them into full effect, and activity. And though we must allow, that education and example give a bias to the faith we profess, and to the mode of worship we prefer ; and that as reason advances, our views of the subject expand in proportion, and the attributes of the Deity become better understood; yet the absence of all these circumstances, would 304 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, &C. not, for one moment, remove from the mind, that innate and conscientious sense of right and wrong, which blends itself with all its actions, and calls forth a dread of consequences from some superior power to our own, when our feelings dictate to us, that those actions are at variance with what we know to be right. In confirmation, we may safely aver, that in no part of the world to which man has had access, however obscure the subject may appear in some few countries, where, from our igno- fance of the people and language, the real sentiments of the natives have been but faintly understood, has a religious feeling been wanting; and whether that feeling be displayed in animal, or in human sacrifices in the worship of stones or of other natural substances of the sun or of any the planetary bodies in bowing to idols or in humbling ourselves before the great Unknown, by whom all things are regulated it is equally in each, and in all, an acknowledgement of a superior power, whose influence is felt, and fear- ed of a sense of right, and wrong and of a dread of punishment, when our consiences tell us, that wrong has been permitted to prevail, over the dicates of right, FINIS. J. HALL, PRINTER, NEWPORT. LECTURE VII ON THE M AMMLFEROUS ANIMALS. HAVING revised and considerably enlarged upon the Lecture, which, upon a former occa- sion, I had the honour of delivering to you on the animals referred to in the class Mammalia; and having, in my present paper, on the same subject, introduced the history of animals not before described ; it will afford me much satis- faction, should the observations now lo be sub- mitted, be the means of inviting your attention to this branch of zoology. For though man in- dubitably holds the most predominant rank in the creation, and therefore his history has pre- viously been treated ; yet, the mammiferous ani- mals approach so near to him in their structure, and in many of their qualities, are so often inter- woven with his wants and his occupations, and generally take so conspicuous a part in nature, that they irresistably awaken in us a desire to become better acquainted with their laws, with 306 ON TflE the probable purposes of their creation, and in what manner and degree they are inimical, or can prove beneficial to our own species. Under this impression, I have been induced to communicate the following remarks ; and as the varying classifications of the present day have not been consolidated into one system, however we may admit the improvements suggested by Blumenbach, Cuvier, and other modern natu- ralists, I shall, for the sake of conveniency, follow that of Linnaeus ; and having gone through his several orders, I shall conclude with such general observations, as a contemplation of the whole will naturally suggest. But, as the sub- ject is too comprehensive to admit of a descrip- tion of every animal, 1 propose to mention, in general terms only, the several species which belong to each order; and to enlarge more par- ticularly upon a few of those animals, whose history is likely to prove the most interesting; commencing with the mammiferous quadrupeds, and ending with the whale tribes. By mammiferous quadrupeds, we mean all those animals, (whales exepted,) which, with a complete skeleton, are to be distinguished by having a perfect brain and nervous system; a double circulation, performed by a heart with two auricles and two ventricles, possess warm, red blood, and whose females produce living animals like themselves, which they uniformly MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 307 suckle. Such animals have their bodies more usually covered with hair ; they belong to the earth, and live upon its productions; (though some also resort to the water in search of food,) and they approach the nearest to the human species, in structure, habits, and intelligence. From their mode of feeding their offspring, they have been classed by naturalists, under the head of Mammalia; to which, from a similar cause, and from a strong resemblance in their internal structure, the whale tribes have also been at- tached ; but as the latter animals differ from the former in their external conformation, in their mode of action, and in the element in which they live which equally entitle them to be ranked with fishes, they will be brought under a separate consideration. Linnaeus has divided the rnammiferons quad- rupeds into six orders, the character of which is taken from the number, structure, and situation of the teeth ; each order into genera, from a still greater variety in the above particular, or, in the formation of some other external part ; each ge- nus into species, from a difference in the general outline, and in the particular habits of the ani- mal ; and each species into varieties, from some slighter shades of distinction. In the first order, which, from including the human species, has heen denominated Primates; the animals, excepting some species of bats, with x 2 308 ON THE a varying number of grinders, have parallel front teeth, or grinders in each jaw, and one canine tooth on each side of the incisors. In this order, the feet resemble hands, having fingers for the most part furnished with flattened oval nails ; and the animals belonging to it, live partly on animal, and partly on vegetable food. It con- sists of four genera; including man, the ape tribes, the lemur, and the bat families. Having, in the preceding lecture, treated upon the natural history of man, the animals belonging to the ape genus become the next for considera- tion. Of these four species, between sixty and seventy varieties Jiave been noticed by na- turalists ; and, as they all, more or less, in their structure and actions, bear some resemblance to the human species, they have naturally excited the attention of the philosopher ; but more espe- cially the Ourarig Outang, of whose history there- fore, I propose, after a few general observations on this genus, to submit to you a brief account. The physical distinctions of the ape genus are to be found, first, in the structure and situation of their teeth, they having four incisors or cutting teeth standing alone in each jaw; molares or grinders with obtuse points ; and between the latter and the incisors, canine teeth, solitary and projecting. Secondly, in possessing four hands in the place of feet, which gives them that faci- lity in climbing, which forms one of their most MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 309 distinguished attributes. And lastly, in the re- semblance of the uvula, ears, eyelashes, hands, and internal structure, to the human species. The genus admits of a subdivision into four separate species, the distinction of which is to be found in the tail. Those without a tail, retaining the familiar term of Ape ; those with a short tail, that of Jlaboon ; those with a longer tail, that of Monkey; and those with 'a prehensive tail, or a tail serving as an extra limb, that of Sapa- jou. The three first species are to be met with in the warmer latitudes of Europe, Asia, and Africa; the last in America only. Those in Europe, which are apes without tails, are con- fined to the rocks of Gibraltar, upon which I have had frequent opportunities of seeing them ; the females, with two or three young ones on their backs, leaping with wonderful agility from rock to rock, without, in the least degree, disturbing those they were carrying. They live upon the wild fruits and herbage that grow on the rock, and when 1 saw them, they were ex- tremely wild and difficult of approach, a few appearing of an unusually large size. Of these a specimen was afforded during my residence in the garrison, when an ape of more than ordinary dimensions was knocked down and captured alive, by the soldiers ; but either owing to im- proper diet, or to bad treatment, he only survived a fortnight. The common size of the Gibraltar x 3 310 ON THE ape is about that of a small terrier; the one captured, was as large as a Newfoundland dog. He was extremely wild and untractaMe, and bore every mark of very advanced old age; his body being quite emaciated, nearly the whole of his teeth gone, and the hair of his head had be- come scanty and quite grey. Why these animals should thus be confined to one spot in Europe, naturalists have never been able to decide ; though, from their prevalence upon Mount Ab- dyla, on the opposite coast of Africa, (fami- liarly known by the name of Apes Hill,) it has been conjectured that they were either brought over from thence by the Moors, at the time of their invading Europe, and afterwards become naturalized to the rock ; or, that the two moun- tains, 1 denominated by the ancients, the Pillars of Hercules, must, at some former period, have been united. The Ourang Outang,, now to be described, from having no tail, and from other resenablan- ces, may be considered a variety of the ape spe- cies. But its history, from defective information, more particularly of the animal in the adult state, is involved in so much uncertainty, that even at the present day, it is extremely doubtful, whether it has been properly identified as a dis- tinct species, or whether it ought only to be considered a variety of the common ape. This is partly to be attributed to the systematic writer MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 311 being obliged to take for granted, what others have written before him, or to obtain his infor- mation from the unscientific traveller, who, from the love of the marvellous, or from allowing his imagination to get the better of his judgment, has often given very extraordinary accounts of the animals he has seen in their wild and native state, and which, subsequent experience has not confirmed ; and partly to those animals which have been actually brought under the eye of the man of science, being too young to determine what their real form and character would have been, had they reached the adult state. Thus Linnaeus, whose definitions in general are so clear and distinct, was led, not only to believe the most exaggerated accounts of the Ourang Outang, but almost to allow him one of the most important physical qualifications of man, that of speech. And Buffon, with other extraordinary attributes, had led himself to be- lieve, that the erect position when he walks, is his natural attitude; while he has confounded the Ourang Outang, a native of Asia, and appa- rently a mild and docile animal, with the Chim- pansee, Pongo, or large African ape, whose fero- city of character, and ungovernable passions, are stated to render travelling dangerous, in the countries which he inhabits. We will give Buffon's own account of the ani- mal which he witnessed, as it will serve to shew ON THE that the actions he relates were obviously artifi- cial, the result of previous education, and that they took place under the coercion of the keep- er. After concluding, that until better informed, we must regard the large African and Asiatic apes, as constituting but one species, he pro- ceeds : "The. Ourang Outang, which I saw, ivalked always on two Jeet, even ivhen carrying things of considerable weight. His air was me- lancholy, his gait grave, his movements mea- sured, and very different from those of other apes. He had. neither the impatience of the Bar- bary ape, the maliciousness of the baboon, nor the extravagance of the monkey. It may be al- ledged that he had the benefit of instruction ; but the other apes, which 1 compared with him, were educated in the same manner. Signs alone were sufficient to make pur Ourang Outang act ; but the baboon required a cudgel, and the other apes a whip, for none of them would obey with- out blows. I have seen this animal present his hand to conduct the people who came to see him, and walk as gravely along with them as if he formed a part of the company. I have seen him sit down at table, unfold his towel, wipe his lips, use a spoon or fork to carry the victuals to his mouth, pour his liquor into a glass, and make it touch that of the person who drank along with him. When invited to take tea, he brought a, cup and saucer, placed them on the table, put* MAMMIFKROUS ANIMALS. 313 in sugar, and allowed it to cool before he drank it. All these actions he performed without any other instigation than the signs, or verbal orders of his master; and often of his own accord. He did no injury to any person ; he even approach- ed company with circumspection, and presented himself as if he wanted to be caressed !" The above brief account of the actions of the Ourang Outang, in the domesticated state, paints in very lively colours, the docility of the animal, and the very strong imitative powers he possesses when these are called into exercise by educa- tion ; but while we consider the erect position to be a human attribute only, and therefore doubt this animal's capability of walking on his hind legs for any continuance, (however he may have been taught to do so for a short time, in the presence of strangers.) we see nothing in these actions indicative of that intelligence and saga- city which we so often see in the dog, and not unfrequently in the elephant ; though, from the deficient resemblance in those two animals, to the human species, they may not appear so striking at first sight, as in the Ourang Outang. The large African Apes, nnder the denomina- tion of Pongo, which have been mistaken for the Ourang Outang, are stated, by credulous travel- lers, to be of a very extraordinary magnitude, and to be so powerful, "that ten men are not able to hold them ; that if stray Negroes fall in their 314 ON THE way, they will attack and kill them : that they always walk on their hind legs : that with stones, large clubs, or even with their fists only, they will drive before them the wild elephants; and that they actually attacked two of the Slaves near an Knglish Fort, in Guinea, and would have poked their eyes out with sticks, had not some other Negroes come to their assistance." Most of the accounts I have seen of the larger ape tribes, convey with them, as in the above instance, a mixed proportion of truth, with very questionable probability; and they serve to shew how little We are actually acquainted with the natural ha- bits of animals, whose secluded haunts and ex- treme vvildness of character, render them, not only difficult of approach, by which we could satisfactorily observe their movements, but also prevent us from capturing any of the species ex- cepting, (as before observed,) an occasional young one, whose character has not been fully deve- loped ; and which, brought to Europe, from the great difference of the climate, has never survi- ved long enough to make up for this deficiency. Under such disadvantages, all I can attempt in my history of the Ourang Outang, is to avail myself of the latest, and what may be considered the most authentic information that offers ; and I have accordingly, not only consulted systema- tic writers on zoology of the first respectability, but fortunately have before me some very interesting MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 315 accounts of this animal, as given by Doctors Abel and Macleod, who returned with Lord Amherst from China; and by Mr. Grant, Assistant Surgeon, upon the Bengal Establishment, whose report appeared in the XVII No. of the Edin- burgh Journal of Science, published in July, 1828. The Ourang Ontang seems to beexclusively an inhabitant of the larger islands in the Indian Ocean, within the latitudes approaching the Equator, but principally that ol Borneo, and has rarely been captured of a greater height from the crown of the head to the heel, than three feet and a half; that under the observation of Doc- tors Abel and Macleod, measuring three feet; and the one noticed by Mr. Grant, only twenty- six inches. But as these were considered very young, it is probable they grow to a much larger size. In his physical aspect, the Ourang Outang, it is admitted by all, bears a much stronger re- semblance to the human form, than any other animal, but this is only in caricature and in parts; his extreme conformation, taken as a whole, sufficiently evincing his alliance with the brnte species. His colour is of a brownish red, the skin below the hair assuming a bluish grey ; the whole of the body and extremities, (excepting the face, and palms of the hands and feet,) being covered with thick and straight hair, between five and six inches in length ; but it is thickest on the back, arms, and legs, and more thinly scattered 316 ON THE over the shoulders, elbows and knees. The face, and the palms of the hands and feet, are quite naked, excepting a few scattered hairs on the cheeks and chin, which give a faint resemblance of whiskers and a beard. The upper portion of the cranium which is covered with the same kind of hair as the body, the forehead, the eyes which are dark and full, with the shape, depth, and direction of their respective orbits, the eyelashes and the ears, are the parts which approach the nearest to man ; and these bear that striking resemblance to the human form not easily to be mistaken. But, as we descend from the forehead and eyes, the extreme flatness of the nose, and the oblique and narrow opening of the nostrils, the projecting and mammillary form and the wide aperture of the mouth, di- minish the likeness, and at once shew the close affinity of the animal with the brute species. The number of his teeth has hardly yet been defined; the aniftials hitherto captured, being too young to judge of what that might amount to, in the adult state. The Ourang Outang, described by Dr. Abel, had twenty-four; namely, eight inci- sors, (the two middle ones in the upper jaw being twice the length of the lateral ones;) four canine, and twelve double teeth. While the ani- mal noticed by Mr. Grant, had only twenty, con- sisting of eight molars or double teeth, eight incisors and four canine not very white or well MAMMIfEROUS ANIMALS. 317 arranged, the roof of the mouth being quite black. Descending from the head, we again find a resemblance to the human form, in the shoulders, neck and chest, though the latter is wide in pro- portion to the pelvis ; in the form of the arms, particularly of the elbows, and in the appearance of the hands, excepting that they are narrower and more elongated than the human, and the fingers more tapering; the thumb being very short, scarcely reaching the first joint of the fore finger. But the arms are long in proportion to the legs, and to the height of the body ; and this, with some other circumstances presently to be noticed, is unfavourable to the erect positiori. All the fingers have very perfect nails ; oval in form, and exactly terminating at their extremi- ties. Below the chest, when the animal is in the quiescent state, the abdomen is prominent, and what has been vulgarly denominated, "pot bel- lied," which gives him a grotesque appearance in the sitting posture. The Pelvis, unlike the human, is narrow and contracted ; and this, with the deficiency of the glutoei muscles, and those of the thighs and legs, (the latter being short and bandy,) remove him in the lower portion of his frame, still further from the human resemblance, and disqualify him alto- gether from walking or resting long in the erect? attitude. 318 ON THE The Feet, though resembling man in the palms and in the heels, are both narrower and longerthan the hunan, having distinct fingers in the place of toes, with the great one very short. Those in Dr. Abel's Ourang Outang, being without nails; and those of Mr. Grant, with them. The Onrang Outang has no cheek pouches like the common ape, in which the latter collects his food pre- viously to mastication and deglutition, nor cal- losities upon the glutrei muscles ; but below the chin, he has a double pendulous membrane, which, when the animal is angry or pleased, swells out and gives the appearance of a double chin ; and this, communicating with the ventricles of the glottis, produces a thickness and hoarseness of the voice, without, in any degree, (as has been imagined by some naturalists,) approaching to articulation. These external peculiarities are not the only physical resemblances which the Ourang Outang bears to man ; for like him, he has an uvula, which no other animal but man and the ape tribes possess ; while he resembles him very closely in the structure of the hyoid bone, in that of the liver and of the caecum or blind in- testine, and in the anatomy of the brain, at least more nearly so than any other animal. But, with respect to his walking in the erect attitude, which has been adduced as a confirmatory proof of his still nearer approximation to the human species, however, we may credit his having been MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. taught to do so for a short time, or his having been occasionally seen in the wild state in that position ; yet, 1 consider it to be physically im- possible, that he can stand or walk erect for any length of time without returning to his natural attitude, the horizontal. Since the width of the chest, compared with the pelvis which is ex- tremely contracted, the shortness of the lower extremities in proportion to the arms, with the great deficiency of muscle in the flanks, thighs, and legs, and the narrowness and length of the feet, all tend to throw the head and body for- ward when in the erect position, and compel the animal, when walking in that attitude, frequently to return his arms to the ground, to enable him to preserve his equilibrium. This is confirmed by Doctor Abel, who makes the following re- marks. " The Ourang Outang is utterly incapable of walking in a perfectly erect posture ; he betrays this in his whole exterior confirmation, and never wilfully attempts to counteract its tendency. His head leaning forward and forming a consid- erable angle with the back, throws the centre of gravity so far beyond the perpendicular, that his arms, like the fore legs of other animals, are re- quired to support the body. So difficult indeed is it for him to keep the upright position for a few seconds, under the direction of his master, that he is obliged, in the performance of his task, to 320 ON THE raise his arms above his head and throw thdni behind him to keep his balance." It is the quality of climbing, (and for which, their limbs are so peculiarly adopted,) and not the erect position, which is the attribute that nature intended the Ourang Outang, and all the ape and monkey families, exclusively to pos- sess; as fully confirmed by the authorities which we have previously quoted, as well as by every individual who has seen them in their wild state; and in this action they seem to excel all other animals; running up with the greatest facility, the rigging and masts of vessels, and the tops of houses, when under human protection ; and in their native regions, the loftiest trees ; and mak- ing their summits their nightly abode. Thus the forests, form the principal haunts of this extrar- dinary race of animals, and in these, and in their vicinity, they find the fruits, the eggs of birds, the insects, and the seeds of vegetables, from which their food is derived ; and it is in these recesses that their young are brought into life, and protected until they can help themselves. But all these are physical circumstances only. The most important fact to be determined is, how nearly the Ourang Outang approaches our own species in those intellectual qualifications, which have elevated man very far above, and have bes- towed on him that superiority, which he pos- sesses over every other part of the creation. MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 321 And here we are of opinion it must be admitted, that he falls very short of what might be expect- ed from him, upon taking a hasty view of his physical resemblance. For though he soon after being captured, becomes docile arid tractable, shews great affection towards those who treat him with kindness, displays much cunning and adroitness in every thing which regards himself, and is very readily instructed in many of the common actions belonging to our species, of which we have given from Button some very illustrative proofs; yet he betrays little of that comprehensive intelligence and sagacity, which alone can render the brute animal interesting, and which, in so many instances, have nearly placed the dog upon a footing with ourselves ; at one time, the most amusing of companions, at another, the sure and faithful defender of our lives and properties. The actions of the Ouran: Outang are there- fore to be attributed either to his imitative pow- ers, of which he possesses a very extraordinary share, or to his instinctive ones ; producing in him that animal sagacity and cunning, which lead to a variety of movements, rarely to be ob- served in any other quadruped. I have formed this opinion, not only from my own observations on the Ape tribes in general, (of which the Ourang Outang may be considered a variety,) but from the best accounts which I Y 322 ON THE have been enabled to consult on the subject, but more especially from the rerent reports of Doc- tors Abel and Macleod, and Mr. Grant, (already alluded to,) in which have been noticed, many interesting anecdotes of this animal, all confirm- atory of this opinion, but which, I regret, the limits of my lecture will not permit me to detail. 1 only heg to remark, that however for rea- sons which cannot be brought within our limit- ed comprehension, the Ouraug On tan # bears in certain parts of his physical conformation, a striking resemblance to man, and mechanically can imitate him in many of his actions ; yet I trust it will appear, that he is most oh\iously placed at an immeasurable distance from him, in all those nobler qualifications for which man is so pre-eminently to be distinguished ; in the uniformly erect attitude of his body; in his bold and commanding gait; in the comprehensive and complicated uses which he makes of his hands ; in the power he possesses of communi- cating, and receiving ideas, through the medium of speech ; and more especially in all those in- ventive and highly ntellectual endowments, which have more or less rendered subservient to human will and pleasure, every other part of the animal kingdom Thus the boasted hypo- thesis of the several parts of the creation being united by one chain of which man is only the first in the link, exists but in the imagination of MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 323 a few fanciful philosophers ; while, in the estimation of the best informed natviralists, he holds a distinct and separate place ; at once the arbiter of the surrounding objects, and the no mean conterpart of the divine architect, at whose mandate, man, and all living things, were first called into existence. With reference to the usefulness of the various animal* belonging to the Ape genus, it is not to be expected, under our present short-sighted- ness, that we should be able to ascertain the po- sitive object of each part of the creation ; nor to determine at all times, how far an obvious evil has been compensated by a corresponding good, It is sufficient that our general experience has taught us, that nothing has been created in vain, and that in few instances has a great inconve- nience been produced without having some useful tendency in view. This observation has been fully corroborated in the habits of the animals, to which we have alluded ; whose well known disposition to destroy by waste and otherwise, the produce of the countries which they inhabit, is more than counterbalanced by the distribution in every direction, and by burying in hoards, at distant points, the seeds of the fruit and vegeta- bles which they consume ; thus becoming event- ually, and comprehensively, the cultivatiors of the soil to the productions of which they appear Y2 324 ON THE to be the greatest enemies; and thus the more we examine into the works of nature, the more fully are we convinced of their utility, even in her minutest operations. Of the next genus in the order of Primates, the Lemur tribes, our notice will be but brief; as the animals belonging to it, have nothing very remarkable in their habits to render a long detail of their history necessary. One or two species are to found in Africa and South America, but they principally inhabit the Indian Islands, more especially Madagascar and Ceylon. From their quadrumanous structure which increases their faculty of climbing, and from their haunts and habits being confined to the forest where they obtain their food, they have been classed by some naturalists with Monkeys; but as they differ from them in the arrangement of their teeth, in the form of the head which is fox-like and in the greater length of their legs; Linnaeus has, with more propriety, placed them in a separate genus. \Ve come now to the last genus in the order of Primates, the Bat tribes, which, though possessing a very curious piece of mechanism that confers upon them the quality of flying, thus apparently forming a link between quadrumanous animals, and birds, renders them a fit subject for philosophical inquiry ; yet upon a closer examination we shall find, that even this attri- MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 325 bute has been but imperfectly bestowed ; and that, in every other particular, they have all the distinguishing qualities of the otlur aniu a Is in the same class, though very few that entitle them to be placed in the order of Primates. The Bat is an inhabitant of every known por- tion of the world, and is the only wild Mammi- ferous animal that has been seen in the Pelew Islands, excepting latterly, a few Hats of the Eu- ropean species, which are supposed to have been imported by vessels which have visited the Is- lands from Europe, it varies in size fn.m the smallest mouse to the full grown rabbit, and in- creases in magnitude as the temperature advan- ces, so that in the equatorial latitudes, it becomes a very formidable animal. Of this genus, there are in all, thirty species, of which, four are to be found in Great Britain, namely, the short eared or common; the Jong cared; the no c title, or great ; and the horse shoe Bats. But it will sufficiently answer our pur- poses of illustration, to notice only two ; the common European Bat which is the smallest, and the Vampyre or Spectre^ which may be con- sidered one of the largest of the Bat tribes ; more especially, as the leading observations we shall have to offer upon these two species, will apply to the whole genus. o The Short Eared, or Common European Bat, which, when flying about our houses and barns, Y 3 ON THE or among old ruins, so often attracts our atten- tion, is about the size of a young mouse, to which, with the exception of its wings, it bears no small resemblance; and from this circumstance, and from its mode of flying, it has been familiarly called the Flitting Mouse. \t is about two inches and a half in length, and measures nine inches from wing to wing, when fully extended. The colour of its fur, is that of a mouse tinged with red its ears are very short and small, and have each an inner valve the eyes are very minute, and the mouth, nose, and head, generally re- semble the mouse. It has four incisors, or cut- ting teeth, separated in couples in the upper jaw ; and six incisors, sharp-edged, and triflingly notched, below ; with one canine tooth between the molars and incisors, in each jaw. Its tail is short, and forms a part of the wing when the animal is flying, so that it is riot seen in that attitude. Its hind legs which are 1 extremely weak, are divided into five toes or fingers of equal length, and all of them armed with nails terminating in sharp claws, that assist its motion when on the ground, and serve the purposes of suspension, when it returns to its winter abode. But the most curious and most interesting part of the animal's mechanism, is the instrument by which it is enabled to fly ; and this leads me to the consideration of the fore legs and feet, or MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. rather hands, by which the principal actions of the animal are produced. Contrary to the hind extremities, (just describ- ed,) which, in most particulars, resemble those of the other qnadrumanous animals; the bones of the fore arms and fingers of the Bat, (with the exception of the thumb, which is short, detach- ed, and armed with a hooked nail,) form thin, and long continued processes ; having the inter- vals between, filled up by a very fine, transpar- ent, umbrageous, and sail-like membrane, which extends to the muscles of the breast bone, and to the hind legs and tail* thus enveloping as it were, nearly the whole animal, and giving it, while on the ground, incumbered as it is by its folded membrane, a very unseemly and awk- ward appearance, more especially when it afr- tempts to walk, which it finds some difficulty in accomplishing. But upon its ascent, (to effect which, it is necessary to attain some point of elevation,) it assumes, altogether, a new and highly interesting character. For the elongated fingers, acting as yards to a sail, become, at the will of the animal, very widely extended ; and the whole membrane throughout, thus put upon the stretch, is converted by the joint action of the pectoral muscles, into a beautiful pair of wings of very considerable expansion, which, being ra- pidly thrown into motion to preserve the animal's equilibrium in the air, give to it the flitting ap- 32S ON THE pearance, that so strikingly attracts our attention - For, unlike the bird, it can neither suspend its motion to afford time for rest, nor can it continue long in the flying attitude, but is compelled to move very rapidly, and to resort frequently to the ground, or to some eminence, to renovate its powers, very easily exhausted by these exertions. It consequently can rarely reach any consider- able elevation in the atmosphere, anfd therefore confines its flight to the space between the lower portions of the roofs of houses, barns, and the -vicinity of old ruins, in pursuit of small summer- inserts, and moths, (its usual food,) carefully avoiding its greatest enemy, the owl ; and, as \ve have just observed, frequently resting upon little eminences to recover the powers of flight. But it is only during a few months of summer, that the bat is capable of exertion. it soon loses its energy as the season becomes cooler, and upon the approach of winter, it retires to caves, old ruins, or the hollow parts of trees, where, in a completely torbid state, it is often seen suspended by its hinder legs, or by the hooked nails of its thumbs, huddled together in elusteis of considerable numbers. In this con- dition, as Mr. Bingley observes, " most of the animal functions are so far suspended, as to be scarcely perceptible. 'I he action of the heart and arteries becomes so exceedingly languid, that the pulse can hardly be felt. If respiration be MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 32J> at all carried on, it is also so very slow, as to be scarcely disrernable. The natural temperature, or animal heat, sinks greatly helow the usual standard, and digestion becomes altogether sus- pended. All the visible exertions are at a stand, and none of the functions seem to go on, ex- cepting a very small degree of nutrition, and an interchange of old for new mtter. in the depo- sitory cells of the body." The female has two young ones at a birth, large in proportion to the size of the mother, and which hang close to the nipples, even when the animal is flying, so that the Bat hardly seems to stand in need of a nest, to which most other animals resort for the protection of their young ; and it has the additional peculiarity of not only finding its way in the darkest night, but also in a laby- rinth, or in any crooked or contracted place, even when deprived of its eyes : a circumstance which has been attributed to the extreme sensi- bility of its membranous wings, or to a more acute hearing, that renders it susceptible of the diversity of impulsions communicated by the extern 1 .ir. Naturalists have been divided on the nomen- clature of the large Bats of foreign countries, more particularly as referable to the term Vam- pyre, which, by sone, has been applied equally to the Asiatic and American Bats, and by others, has been confined to the former, while the latter 930 ON THE has been denominated the Spectre Bat. As my time will not permit me to enter into a particular history of each of the foreign Bats, I shall con- fine my description to the large Bat of South Americ , to which \ shall take upon myself to to assign the name of Vampyre; briefly observ- ing, that the largest Bats are to be found in the Island of Java, some of which, have measured one foot in length, and more than five feet from wing to wing, *hen fully expanded; and that though these are stated to live upon the fruits of the country which they inhabit, yet, from the pe- culiar structure of the tongue, we can easily cre- dit the propensity which has been attributed to all the foreign Bats, that of sucking the blood of the animals, upon whom they may have it in their power to fix. The specimen on the table which was pre- sented to the Society, by Mr. Cole, though from being brought from India in Spirits and after- wards dried, it has failed to display its nature, size, and form ; will serve to convey to you some general idea of the magnitude of these animals. The Vampyre Bat, of South America, which is found chiefly in Surinam and Guiana, is about the size of a Squirrel, and measures from tip to tip of the wings, when expanded, nearly three feet. Its body is covered with long hair, of nearly a black colour, and it has no tail. It has M/VMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 331 four incisor teeth in each jaw, according to Lin- naeus, but Stedman gives it four in the upper, and six in the lower jaw, with large solitary ca- nines or tusks, and many obtuse grinders. The nostrils in front resemble a funnel, bending up- wards into a ianceolated leaf, where it forms a thick and elongated kind of cushion with mem- branous edges, that altogether give the animal that hideous aspect, which has so much attract- ed the attention of travellers. Its tongue is very remarkable, representing in length and narrowness, the tongue of the Ant Eater, which, like that animal, it has the power of thrusting out very far. Its surface is lightly shagreeued, and close to its extremity, may be seen an organ which seems adapted to suction, as it consists of a cavity terminating in a point, the circuit of which is marked by eight warts. The remaining portion of its conformation,differs only, in a few particulars, from the other Bats, which, however unseemly in their appearance, bear no comparison with the Vampyre Eat of America ; whose hideous and disgusting aspect, combined with its established propensity to suck the blood of other animals, (the human subject not excepted,) has rendered it the just object of terror to those strangers who have visited the countries in which it is to be found. That the Vampyre Bat has this propensity, has been confirmed by the testimonies of the 332 ON THE most respectabe travellers, but more especially by D'Azzara, Condermine, and Stedman, all of whom are to be depended upon for their au- thenticity. From D'Azzara, we have the following remarks. "The species, with a leaf upon the nose, differs from the other Bats, in being able to turn when on the ground, nearly as fast as a rat, and in their fondness for sucking the blood of animals. Sometimes they will bite the crests and beards of the fowls while asleep, and suck the blood. The fowls generally die in consequence of this, as a gangrene is engendered in the wound." "They bite also Horses, Mules, and horned cat- le,and usually prefer the flanks, .shoulders, or neck, as they are better enabled to arrive at these parts by the mane and tail. Nor is man himself secure from their attacks. On this point indeed I have been enabled to give a very faithful tes- timony, since 1 have had the ends of my toes bitten by them four times, while I was sleep- ing in cottages in the open country. The wounds which they inflicted without my feeling them at the time, were circular or rather elliptical. Their diameter was trifling, and their depth so superficial, an scarcely to penetrate the cutis. Jt was easy also on examination to perceive, that these wounds were made by suction, and not by puncture, as might be supposed. The blood that is drawn in cases of this description, does MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 333 not come from the veins, or from the arteries, be- cause the wound does not extend so far; but from the capillary vessels of the skin extracted thence without doubt, by those Bats, by the act- ion of sucking or licking." Captain Stedmari,) whose veracity has been pledged in the XXII. Volume of the Monthly Review,) appears to have been more severely handled by one of these Bats, than D'Aizzara, for lie says in his account of Surinam, "I cannot here forbear relating a singular circumstance respect- ing myself, namely, that on awaking about four o'clock this morning, in my hammock, I was extremely alarmed at finding myself weltering in congealed blood, and without finding any pain whatever. Having started up and run for a Sur- geon, with a fire brand in my band, and all over besmeared with gore, to which, if added, my pale face, short hair, and tattered apparel, the Surgeon might well have asked the question, * be thou a spirit of heaven, &c/ The mystery however was, that I had been bitten by the Vam- pyre, or Spectre of Guiana, which is called the Flying Dog of New Spain, and by the Spaniards Perrovolador- This is no other but a Bat of monstrous size, that sucks the blood from men and cattle, when they are fast asleep, even some- times till they die ; and as the manner in which they proceed is truly wonderful, I shall endea- vour to give a distinct account, of it. Knowing, 834 ON THE by instinct, that the person they are going to attack, is in a sweet slumber, they generally alight on the feet, arid, while the creature con- tinues fanning with his enormous wings which keeps one cool, he bites a bit out of the tip of the great toe, so very small indeed, that the head of a pin could scarcely be received into the wound, which is consequently not painful ; yet through this orifice he continues to suck until he is obliged to disgorge. He then begins again, and thus continues sucking and disgorging till he is scarcely able to fly, and the sufferer has often been known to sleep from time into eternity. Cattle they generally bite in the ear, but always in those places where the blood flows sponta- neously. I observed several small heaps of congealed blood all round the place where I had lain upon the ground, upon examining which, the surgeon judged that I had lost at least twelve or fourteen ounces during the night." Another instance of the kind is noticed in Mr. Waterton's Wanderings in South America, in which it is mentioned, that a gentleman by the name of Tarbat, had lost nearly twelve ounces of blood from his great toe, by the bite of a Vampyre Bat, in Demerara, while sleeping in the thatched loft of a Planter's cottage, near the River Pau- maron. Thus the Bat, which, diminutive in size and inoffensive in character, only excites, in this ' milder climate, a pleasing interest from the pecu- MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 335 liarity of its structure and its habits; is ren- dered, by the high temperature of tropical lati- tudes, an animal comparatively of vast magni- tude, disgusting in aspect, and most truly formid- able in its propensities, which are rendered the more dangerous from the invidiousness of the attacks, by which the sufferer is totally unpre- pared to guard against the evil. In closing my account of the Bat, I may be permitted to observe, that since this animal was destined to derive the principal part of its food from night insects which frequent the lower por- tions of the atmosphere in the vicinity of build- ings, we cannot but admire the peculiar mecha- nism of its structure, by which the Bat is to be distinguished from, every other animal, and through whose agency, those various actions, (so necessary to its preservation,) could alone have been performed. Thus, throughout nature's works, however di- versified in their forms, or opposed to each other in their object, we uniformly see the same adap- tation of the means to the end ; and though va- rious instruments have been employed, we find one general effect to be the result, namely, the harmony of the ivhole. In the second order of LinnaBus, the animals are distinguished by having very powerful grind- ers, without front teeth in either jaw, and by feet being fortified with strong, blunted. 336 ON THE hoof-like nails ; and as these of the animals are clumsy in their make, and slow in their motions, this order has been denominated. Bruta. Jt consists of eight Genera, namely, the Rhinoce- ros the Elephant, the Walrus, or Sea Horse, the Sloth, the \nt Eater, the Manis, the Arma- dillo, and the Platypus, or Duck's BUI Animal ; of which I have selected the Elephant and Pla- typus for particular description; the first being rendered highly interesting froiii the peculiarity of its structure, aud more so, from its superior intelligence ; the latter, from its conformation being opposed to every other animal ; having a bill like that of the Duck species, engrafted on the head and body of a quadruped. The Elephant is the largest of existing quad- rupeds, and exceeds in magnitude every other known animal but the Whale. He is an inha- bitant of the hottest latitudes of Asia and Africa, the chief distinction of whose Elephants is to be observed in the more or less arched form of the head, in the shape of the teeth, and in the size and quality of the tusks. He has never been seen in the wild state, either in Europe or America, though it is well known that fossil remains of very large Elephants, and of several other tropical animals, are frequently to be met with in the upper formations of both those portions of the globe, and in many parts of this country in particular. MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 337 His usual range is in the thick forests of swampy grounds, or on the banks of rivers, where he is often to be seen in considerable herds (for he is a gregarious Animal) either feed- ing on the leaves and branches of young trees, or passing through the intermediate streams, in which, with his Proboscis out of the water, he swims with great facility ; but his food is not con- fined to the foliage of trees, for he partakes of any vegetable substance that may fall in his way. Upon our first notice of this animal, we are very forcibly struck with, and surprised at, his vast height and magnitude. But an immense and unwieldy body arched in the centre of the back and very scantily covered with hair ; a course and highly wrinkled skin of a dirty hue ; a small disproportioned tail, hanging like that of the hog; thick, and clumsey legs, ungracefully placed on the ground ; and a head which, with broad pen- dulous ears, and diminutive eyes, terminates in a tube, or probo.scis of very considerable exten- sion, are all circumstances by no means calcula- ted to improve upoii the impression ; and it is not Until we have observed the intelligent expression of his eye, and the sagacity of his movements, that his exterior deformities are forgotten in our admiration of an animal, which, with physical powers few competitors could resist, can with facility be rendered as docile and as obedient as z 338 ON THE the dog ; and can be taught to perform actions which appear to require the human intellect to comprehend. In confirmation of his great magnitude, an Elephant of the largest size has been known to exceed seventeen feet in length, from the crown of the head to the tail ; fifteen feet in height from the arch of the back to the soles of the feet ; six feet in the circumference of his legs ; and to weigh more than ten thousand pounds. But the common averaged proportion of the Elephants \vhich have been seen in this country, may be taken at about one third of the above dimensions and weight, and even this implies a vast degree of animal bulk. His skin is commonly a brownish grey, or tawney, but in the animal we have recently witnessed, it was a dark brown nearly approach- ing to black, It is throughout extremely wrinkled and knotty, full of deep furrows resem- bling the back of an old oak tree, and appears at first sight to be altogether naked ; hut upon a closer examination it is found to be thinly covered with short hair Its texture is unusually dense and thick, and so resisting, as often to be impe- netrable to the largest sized musket ball, and yet indued with so much sensibility, that the small- est insect upon it occasions the greatest un- easiness. His head appears, at the upper part, to be MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 339 large and capacious in proportion to his face, and being arched as it descends,* gives a pe- culiar aspect as it tapers off towards the Probo- scis, more particularly when combined, (as we have just observed,) with broad, pendulous ears, comparatively small eyes, and a half concealed mouth, thrown into the back ground by the prominence of the tusks and proboscis. Like the other animals belonging to this order, the Elephant has no incisors, or front teeth, but usually four large molars, or cheek teeth in each jaw, two in each side, closely united together, and forming with the jaw bone, apparently one compact mass of considerable bulk and weight. His lower jaw is without canine teeth, but this deficiency is amply made up by those which issue on each side from the upper jaw, which, projecting out from below the base of the pro- boscis, like horns with curled fibres, add much to the peculiarity of the external appearance of the Animal. These tusks in the full grown Elephant, are from five to eight feet in length, and weigh from one hundred to a hundred and fifty pounds each ; and as they form the best Ivory of the shops, they are considered, in a com- mercial view, of great value. But the most interesting and most important part of this animal, is his proboscis or trunk, * We allude to the African Elephant. 340 ON THE which, while its extremity serves the prehensive purposes of the human hand, and the tube generally to raise or to strike bodies at the pleasure of the animal ; is the instrument through which respiration is performed, and food and water conveyed into the mouth ; and the channel of communication with the nasal apparatus by which smelling is affected (a sense in this animal of very peculiar acuteness and discrimination) hut is not in itself the organ of smell. This very extraordinary apparatus, which is convex on its upper surface, and flat below, is about three feet in length, when contracted, and exceeds nine feet in its fullest extension It is composed of a series of flfcxible,cartilaginous rings to which are attached innumerable trans- verse and longitudinal muscles most curiously interlaced with each other, through whose agen- cy at the will of the Animal, an almost endless variety of actions can be produced ; the whole forming as it were an irregular cone commencing with a broad base and terminating in a tapering extremity. It takes its rise from the nasal and upper maxillary bones, and making a turn inward, it descends into the palate, where it forms separate orifices ; being the commencement of distinct cavities, which are divided quite up to the extre- mity, by a longitudinal partition ; thus forming a completely double tube. MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 341 Near the internal nasal openings, there is a moveable, cartilaginous plate, which enables the animal to shut the communication with those cavities at pleasure, and thus prevents the water with which it occasionally fills the trunk, from entering into the nasal passages ; while from having the power of moving (he proboscis in all directions without closing at the same time both the internal cavities, respiration is not inter- rupted, and water, when received into the tubes, can be allowed to remain until the animal chooses to throw it out by expiration, and thus either to convey it into the mouth when it wishes to drink, over the whole head and body for the purpose of ablution, or to force it in every direction to a considerable distance from him, when he has no longer occasion for its use, or to punish those with whom he may accidentally be displeased. At the further extremity of the proboscis, there is a concave protuberance the superior part of which is extended several inches beyond the infe- rior, together forming with the rough edges of this bulb, a prehensive organ, that, like the human fingers arid hand, is capable of grasping any substance which the Elephant may wish to take up. This part of the proboscis is therefore used to absorb and pour into his throat water, when he wishes to drink, to break off and convey to his 342 ON THE mouth, the larger branches of trees, which afe is his natural food, or the leaves and stems of the plantain ; and when domesticated, to take up and convey in the same manner, grains of corn, blades of grass, hay, and other vegetables with which, when tamed, he is usually fed ; or he can be taught to pick up with it, small pieces of straw, or pins to untie knots, and to unbar and to open gates; and with his proboscis general- ly, to raise up and assist in loading himself with very heavy articles, or to remove them back again to the ground, or to carry upon it, (for the conveniency of his employers) small packages; and with the same instrument he can inflict deadly blows upon his enemies, when placed on the defensive. Thus, by a wise dispensation of Providence, a most curious piece of mechanism has been given, which, while all the necessities of the Animal have been most amply provided for in a manner that considering his great bulk and gene- ral make, could not have been effected by any other part of his conformation ; it contributes by the intelligent use which he makes of it, to a variety of human accommodations ; and this, together with the great strength of his body, and his capability of performing long journies under very heavy loads, has rendered the Ele- phant the most valuable of Animals in the coun- tries in which he is to be found. foAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS, 343 The female Elephant is supposed to carry her young about twenty months, rarely producing more than one at a time. These use their mouths for sucking, throwing their proboscis over their heads while under that operation, so that it is not until after lactation has ceased, that this instrument is called into comprehensive action. At the time of birth, the Elephant is about the size of a full grown calf, and as he is supposed to continue growing for upwards of twenty years, we may easily comprehend the great magnitude to which he can reach. He is known to be a long lived animal and frequently to have exceeded the hundredth year of his age ; but it is conjectured, in his natural state, he lives to a much greater period. In former times he was used by the Natives for the purposes of war and was armed accordingly ; and the Carthaginians availed themselves of this animal to assist in their various operations against their Roman enemies. In the military operations of the present day, he is only employed as a beast of burden to con- vey the artillery, ammunition, and Camp Equip- age, with the usual appendages of an army, and in this particular he proves of the most important utility. But it is in a commercial point of view, that the labors of the Elephant are the most comprehensively employed ; since it is upon his back, that the tuns, sacks, and bales, in short 344 ON THE all the articles of merchandize are transported: from one part of India to another ; that whole families are conveyed upon one single animal upon the same rout ; and that whether in drawing or carrying the most weighty articles, he can travel at the rate of fifty miles a day, over tracks of country, in which all other beast of burden would sink under the exertion.* Thus from his strength alone, it is calculated that he can carry and draw more than six horses ; and every part of him from the extremity of his back to his trunk, is in some way or other called into active utility. This noble animal therefore has a peculiar claim upon our attention and gra- titude ; since while he affords proofs the most convincing, that Providence has in all instances guarded against the inconveniences of locality,and beyond doubt to each animal has allotted some useful place according to the climate and circumstances of the country which it inhabits ; the services of the Elephant are in every possible way of the most efficient charac- ter, and such as in the present state of our Indian settlements could not be dispensed with, but at the loss of our commerce and probably of the territory from which that commerce has been derived. * The Arabian Camel is also used as a beast of burden in India, but only for subordinate purposes, and where less expe- dition is required. MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. But it is only in Asia, that the Elephant is thus tamed and domesticated for useful labors. In Africa he is hunted and destroyed for the sake of his tusks ; and as the Ivory of the latter coun- try is of a superior quality to that of Asia, it forms a leading article of African commerce. The sagacity of this noble animal, has been illustrated in a variety of instances, which it is impossible to bring within the scope of a Lec- ture, intended to take only a general view of Animal History. They are no doubt well known to many of those who are now doing me the honor to hear me ; and they have been interestingly detailed in Buffon's Natural History, in Bing-^ ley's Animal Biography, and in most of the res- pectable Encyclopaedias. We shall briefly ob- serve, that, limited as is his education has been, to the performance of a few actions to render him useful as a beast of burden, or to serve the purposes of a public exhi- bition ; he displays a wonderful falicity in, comprehending what has been taught him, and well and effectually performs his task according to the orders received. Thus his na- tural docility of temper, leads him to be easily tamed and domesticated, when he soon forms a lasting affection for his master, in whom he rea- dily learns to discriminate the different modula- tions of his voice, if not to understand his dis- tinct articulations; the meaning of the varied 346 ON THE expressions of his countenance, or the wishes conveyed by his hands ; so as by a word, a look, or a sign, to produce that immediate execution of an order, which in most other intelligent ani- mals, requires a combination to have the same effect. Thus he is taught to kneel down to receive his load, or to use his proboscis to remove it when already placed on his back ; to avoid wet in the spot in which it is to be deposited ; or to remove with his trunk any obstacle that may stand iri his own way, or in that of his master ; to unbar and open gates, or to untwist the knots of ropes ; to loosen shoe buckles, or to pick up the most minute article from the ground, and to place it in the pocket of those who are nearest to him, or to remove an article from the pocket of one person and to place it in that of another; to be guided without a bridle, by a driver on his neck with only a pointed rod, or to move even by words only, in any direction, or at whatever place, his rider may think proper to order, and to stop the moment he receives the command, by the articulation of one short mono- syllable only. Jn thus detailing the sagacity of the Elephant, it is but right to mention that much difference of opinion exists, as to the degree of intelligence which ought to be attributed to that animal ; some considering the actions of which he is ca- MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 347 pable of being taught, as merely mechanical, the result of coersion, and of subsequent habit. But what would Man have been without exam- ple and instruction, of which it is his capability alone that renders him susceptible? And how does it happen, that so overwhelming a propor- tion of the brute species, is totally incapable of being taught even the most common actions; while a few others, from their quick apprehen- sion can readily be instructed in a variety of movements, and can understand by word of mouth, by a sign, or by a look, what particular action they are to perform, and vary them ac- cording to circumstances, or even produce the same actions, as it shall please them, when no command has been given? This ready appre- hension therefore, I should denominate, Intel- ligence, to distinguish it from Instinct, or from being the result of merely acquired habits ; though it is far removed from that higher order of Intellect, denominated Reason, which, leading to a just application of animal actions to the most useful purposes as suggested by reflection, is rarely to be met with but in the human spe- cies. It is the first kind of intelligence as pro- duced by a ready apprehension that the Elephant possesses in so preeminent a degree, and such as perhaps not often to be equalled by any other quadruped ; and if with this, we allow him a limited share of reflection, we shall probably have| 348 ON THE brought his character, as nearly within the truth, as our confined knowledge of the subject will admit. But his natural docility of temper is some- times interrupted by temporary fits of insanity, which render it extremely hazardous to approach him. This was fully verified in the noble Ele- phant, then the property of Mr. Cro^s, of Exeter Change, and which formerly was exhibited on the stage, carrying on his back that accomplish- ed actress, Mrs. Henry Johnson in the Panto- mine of Harlequin Padmanaba. He at that time was a most docile and sagacious animal, and from his great size and various performan- ces, had attracted much of the public attention. He was a native of India, and measured from ten to eleven feet in height, and weighed at least by computation, between four and five tons; consuming daily, three trusses of hay, about two hundred weight of carrots, and from sixty to eighty gallons of water, partly used for drinking, and partly for ablution. It was about seven years ago, when he first exhibited those symptoms of the malady, which afterwards for security sake rendered it neces- sary to destroy him. At the period now alluded to, the keeper having gone into his den to exhi- bit him, the animal refused obedience, and on striking him with a slight cane as usual, the Ele- phant violently threw him down. Another keep* MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 349 er seeing the danger, tossed a pitch fork to his comrade, which the animal threw aside like a straw. A person then ran to alarm Mr. CROSS, who hurried down stairs, and catching up a shovel, struck the animal violently on the head, and suddenly seizing the prostrated man, dragged him from the den, and thus saved his life. By active remedies, the symptoms of insanity were for a time abated, but they seemed to have increased upon him in duration in each succeed- ing year, until the year 1827, when one day at the latter end of February, wholly unprovoked, he made a most desperate rush at the front of his den, and so weakened the security of it, as not only to threaten his immediate escape, but by the repeated lunges he made, he incurred the risk of breaking down the other parts of the buil- ding in which the ferocious animals were secured and of thus endangering the whole neighbourhood. Mr. Cross, therefore very painfully to himself, (for independently of the great value of the animal, he was much attached to him) determined that be should be destroyed. At this period, his eyes glared like lenses of glass, reflecting a red and burning light ; and from his furious actions, and great bulk, (being nearly five ton,) all pressing against a very insecure confinement, every thing" was to be apprehended so long as his life was con- tinued Very active poisons, in disguise were 350 ON THE therefore first offered to him, but these he had the sagacity to detect and refused them accordingly. Recourse was then had to fire arms, swords, and pikes, ; but it was not until after more than an hour's conflict, during which 130 musket balls were expended, and most desperate wounds from swords and pikes inflicted, that this noble animal, once the pride of his master and the admiration of the public, was effectually destroyed, after endan- gering the demolition of the whole building. More circumstantial information on this transaction has been given in the third volume of Mr. Griffith's illustration of Cnvier's animal Kingdom, to which we are indebted for the preceding account. We have been led into this detailed history of the Elephant, to afford an opportunity of evin- cing how very limited are the rational pow- ers of even the most intellectual quadrupeds, of which the Elephant may be considered as one, when compared with those of man ; and how strictly this qualification, in the former in- stance, has been confined to the wants and necessi- ties of the animal, or if more extended, to the obvious accommodation of our own species. For though throughout the various orders we may observe a regular chain of instincts, distinguished in several of the species, by great sagacity and contri- vance, and in a few, by a certain portion of reason, which had it been capable of full cultivation might have brought the brute animal upon a level MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 351 with man ; yet nature has so clearly drawn the line of distinction, as at once to break in upon the association ; since by confining" all improvement of intellect in such animals to their own common wants, and to their general usefulness ; and by con- ferring on the mind of man an unbounded capabi- lity of cultivation ; she has rendered all near ap- proximation of the brute to the human species, morally impossible ; and hence that pre-eminence which uniformly has distinguished Man from every other part of the creation. These reflections would have led us, had our time permitted, to have entered into a comparative view of instinct and reason as applicable to the brute species ; a most highly interesting subject, and affording a noble scope for the investigation of the philosopher. We can now only briefly observe, that we consider instinct to be that inherent pro- pensity to various actions, which are indispensible for the preservation of the animal and its offspring under all the ordinary contingencies of their exis- tence, and therefore however differing in each individual, it is uniform in its operation and effects, and can never be altered. Reason, on the contrary, is limited to the pro- duction of those actions that are excited by ac- cidental circumstances, and which are not neces- sarily connected with the natural habits and wants of the animal. It therefore depends upon the capability of each animal to receive new im- 353 ON THE pressions from external agents, and by the aid of reflection, to act accordingly. Hence educa- tion and example, with reflecting powers, are essential to the developement of the one qua- lity, natural propensities are sufficient to give effect to the other; and hence \ve find in the Brute Animal, instinct is throughout life the pre- dominant impulse, while in the human sub- ject, early instincts gradually give way to the progressive advancement of the reasoning facul- ties. We come now to the history of an animal, and which, by the permission of a fiiend, is pre- sented to you for observation, whose peculiarity of conformation led many naturalists in the first instance to suspect, that the early specimens sent home, were impositions; but the animal since has been sufficiently identified, to remove all doubts upon the subject. It was at first denominated by Dr. Shaw the Platypus, or Duck's Bill Animal; but other naturalists have very generally admitted the ap- pellation given to it by Blumenbach, who has de- nominated it Ornithorynchus Paradoxus, and has placed it in his order of Palmata, or web-Jboted; \vhile Cuvier has made it to belong to his Eden- tata, or animals that have few, or no teeth. This extraordinary Animal, which is only to be found in the rivers and lakes of New South Wales, MAMMIFBROUS ANIMALS. 368 is about the size of a moderately grown kitten, and is distinguished from all Mammiferous Ani- mals, by the peculiar formation of its mandibles or jaws, which resemble, in every particular, the broad, flat bill of the Duck tribes, are similarly covered with a soft membrane, and like the bill of the Duck, their lateral edges are serrated. All the feet are webbed, the webs on the front feet projecting beyond the claws, by which means they can be folded up, or expanded, at the pleasure of the animal. This animal is an expert swimmer, and is fre- quently seen on the surface of the water which it seldom quits, blowing like a turtle. But as it is from Dr. Shaw that we have the fullest account of the Ornithorynchus, we shall intro- duce it in his own words, as published in his Naturalist's Miscellany. " Of all the Mammalia yet known, this animal seems the most extraordinary in its conforma- tion ; exhibiting the perfect resemblance of the beak of a duck, engrafted on the head of a quad- ruped. So accurate is the similitude, that at first view, it naturally excites the idea of some decep- tive preparation by artificial means ; the very epi-> dermis, proportions, serrations, manner of open- ing, and other particulars of the beak of a Sho- veller, or other broad billed species of Duck, presenting themselves to the view ; nor is it with- out the most minute and rigid examination, that A A 361 ON THE we can persuade ourselves, of its being the beak or snout of a quadruped." "The body is depressed, and has some resem- blance to the Otter in miniature ; it is covered with a very thick, soft, and beaver-like fur, and is of a moderately dark brown above, and of a subferrugenous white beneath. The head is flattish and rather small than large ; the mouth or snout, as before observed, so exactly resem- bles that of some broad-billed species of Duck, that it might be mistaken for such. Round the base is a flat circular membrane somewhat deep- er or wider below than above ; below, near the fifth of an inch ; and above, about one eighth. The tail is flat, furry like the body, rather short and obtuse, with an almost biped termination; it is broader at the base, and gradually lessens at the top, and is about three inches in length ; its colour is similar to that of its body. The length of the whole animal, from the top of the beak to that of the tail, is thirteen inches ; of the bea, an inch and a half. The legs are very short, terminating in a broad web ; which, in the fore feet, extends to a considerable distance be- yond the claws. On the fore feet are five claws, straight, short, and sharp pointed ; the two ex- terior ones, somewhat shorter than the three middle ones. On the hind teet are six claws, longer and more inclined to a curved form than those of the fore feet. The exterior toe and MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 355 claw, are considerably shorter than the four mid- dle ones; the exterior, or sixth, is seated much higher than the rst, and resembles a strong sharp spur. All the legs are hairy above; the fore feet are naked both above and below. The internal edges of the under mandible or jaw (which is narrower than the upper,) are channel- led with numerous stria? as in a Duck's bill. The nostrils are small and round, and are situated about a quarter of an inch from the tip of the bill, and are about the eighth of an inch distant from each other. There is no appearance of teeth ; the palate is removed, but seems to resemble that of a Duck ; the tongue also is wanting in the specimen. The ears, or auditory foramina, are placed about half an inch below the eyes. They appear like a pair of oval holes about the eighth of an inch in diameter, there being no external ear. A little beyond the beak, are situated two smallish, oval, white spots in the lower part of which are imbedded the eyes, or at least the parts ] allotted to the animal for some kind of vision ; for from the thickness of the fur, and the small- ness of the organs, they seem to have been but obscurely calculated for distinct vision, and are probably like those of the Mole, and some other animals of that tribe ; the whole apparent diame- ter of the cavity in which they are placed, not exceeding the tenth of an inch.'* " When we consider the general form of this A A 2 356 ON THE animal, and particularly its bill and webbed feet, we shall readily perceive that it must be a resi- dent in watery situations ; that it has the habits of digging or burrowing in the banks of rhers or under ground, and that its food consists of aqua- tic plants and animals. This is all that at present can be reasonably gues&ed at. Future observa- tions made in its native regions, will, it is hoped, afford us more ample information, and will make us fully acquainted with the natural history of anani- mal, which differs so widely from all other quad- rupeds, and which verifies in a most striking manner the observation of Euffon, namely, that whatever was possible for nature to produce has actually been produced/' " On a subject so extraordinary as the present, a degree of scepticism is not only pardon- able hut laudable ; and I perhaps ought to ac- knowledge* that 1 almost doubt the testimony of my own eyes, with respect to the structure of this animal's beak ; yet must confess that I can perceive no appearance of any deceptive preparation; and the edges of the rictus, the insertion, &c. when tried by the test of maceration in water, so as to render every part completely moveable, seem per- fectly natural ; nor can the most expert anatomist discover any deception in this particular." Since the above account of Dr. Shaw was pub- lished, in which it is stated, that no teeth or tongue could be discovered in the Ornithorynchus, this, MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 357 has been very closely examined by other naturalists, and particularly by Sir EverardHome, who has stated his opinion, that the oblong verti* cle fibres to be observed towards the lower part of the cartilaginous edges of each mandable, and consisting of horny substances with a flat surface, simply adhering to the gums and without fangs, are to be considered as molar teeth ; and that he has discovered a short tongue furnished with papillae, at the base of which are attached two horny processes pointing forwards, which are in- tended to prevent the food passing into the fauces before it has been sufficiently masticated. This Animal has lately been mentioned in the work of Mr. Cunningham, who appears to have been a very close observer of what he saw in New South Wales. He says " I cannot omitto noticelikewise the Ornithoryn- c/ius, that remarkable animal which forms the link between the bird and the beast, having a bill like a Duck and paws webbed similar to that bird, but legs and body like those of a quadruped, covered with thick coarse hair, with a broad tail to steer by. It abounds in our rivers, and may be seen bobbing to the top every now and then to breath like a Seal, then diving again in quest of its prey. it is believed to lay eggs, as a nest with eggs in it of a peculiar appearance, was some time ago found. It bears a claw in the inside of its foot, having a tube therein through which it omits a poisonous 358 ON 7 HE fluid into the wound which the claw inflicts ; and when assailed, it strikes its paws together and fastens upon his enemy like a crab/'* In closing my account of the above quadruped, I may be permitted to remark, that its peculiar conformation illustrates in a very striking manner (what may be equally applied to the Ourang Outang in reference to the human species, to the Bat as partaking of the qualities of the bird, and iu a comparative degree, to created things in gene- ral,) that nature, while she preserves a chain of affinities or resemblances throughout all her 'works, has given to each portion, such an iden- tity of character and laws, that no interference can possibly occur; and thus, under a multipli- city of operations apparently opposed to each other in their nature and effects, one general consequence is the result, and by this, the har- mony of the whole is uninterruptedly preserved. Every part of the animal kingdom indeed pre- sents so extensive a scope for the contemplation of the Philosopher, and when closely examined, * In confirmation of Mr, Cunningham's account of the poi- sonous claw of this animal ; I have since received, in a com- munication from a near relative in the Commissariate Depart- ment, at Van Dieman's Land, who states, that the spur to which Mr. Cunningham alludes has, upon examination, been found to contain poison ; and that very lately the hand of a boatman, who having caught one of the animals alive, had been struck by the spur, became instantly and alarmingly swelled up the \vhole arm, and was long in recovering the effects. MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 359 be found to be made up of so many interest- ing materials, that I cannot sufficiently impress upon your minds the importance of its study ; not merely for the sake of acquiring a knowledge of the artificial divisions or classification of its several parts, or the external form of animals; (subordinate subjects which are in some degree necessary to be understood to enable you to make the proper distinctions) but for the purpose of investigating most minutely, the structure and economy of each animal in whos i e formation the most consummate wisdom and contrivance has been displayed ; their relative operations upon each other ; and the important part, each in its respective sphere has to perform, to fulfil the useful purposes, for which, like ourselves, they were first called into existence. In my next lecture, I shall do myself the hon- our of submitting to you, my conclusive outline of the Mammiferous Quadrupeds, as arranged by Linnaeus, with an account of the Whale Tribes. LECTURE VIII. ON THE MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. HAVING in the Lecture which I last had the honor of delivering to you explained, that the Mammiferous Quadrupeds are those Land Ani- mals which uniformly give suck to their young; that they live principally upon the productions of the earth, and approach the nearest to the human species in their structure, habits, and intelligence; and having treated on the two first orders of Linnaeus, which he has denominated, Primates and Bruta ; the third division becomes the next for consideration. The animals belonging to this order, are dis- tinguished, by having mostly in each jaw, six conical, sharp pointed, front teeth ; with, on each side of these, solitary projecting tusks, or canine teeth ; and a varying number of grinders, also terminating in conical, or pointed processes. Their feet are divided into toes, armed with sharp, hooked claws, and these, with their teeth, are N THE their principal means of defence. They live chiefly upon the carcases of other animals, no part of the earth being without some of their spe- cies ; and as they are mostly wild and ferocious, Linnaeus has given to this order, the appellation of Fens. It consists of ten Genera : namely, the Seal Tribes; the Dog Genus, (embracing the domes- tic Dog, the Hyaena, the Jackal, the Wolf, the Fox, and the Zerdoa, a very small, and beautiful animal, peculiar to Arabia.) The Cat Tribes, (in which are included the domestic Cat, the Lion, the Tyger in all its varieties, and the several species of Wild Cats.) The Weasel Tribes; the Otter; the Bear; the Mole; the Shrew; the tiedgehog ; and the Opossum Tribes, including the Kangaroo. In reviewing the animals attached to this order, though we find a few of them perfectly inoffen- sive, and others, which, by domestication, mny be rendered the dose associates of Man; yet generally, they are the most destructive to his person, or to his property, of any which belong to the animal kingdom; requiring his utmost in- genuity and best energies, to counteract their mischievous propensities. But this circumstance, had no other presented itself, affords a proof of their utility; since Man being formed of capabilities only, which, without exercise, would have been of no avail to him ; he MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. requires to be placed in situations, and to be ex- posed to trials, which will call into play those powers that are to stamp his character in the creation ; and in no instance perhaps do he stand more in need of his talents, than when assailed by enemies, with whose physical quali- ties he cannot compete, and whose object, is cruel destruction, without one hope of mercy, or forbearance. To make up therefore for his physical defects, he must have recourse to inven- tion, or to deep laid stratagem, or in other words what he cannot effect by his natural powers, he must accomplish by his ingenuity, or by the force of his contrivance. Having thus repulsed the first attacks of his enemies, he is led by cultivation to destroy his haunts ; and thence from post to post to drive him to his last resource, the wilderness or the desart, rarely to disturb his future occupations. The ferocious animals therefore, by exciting the human intellect, and by awakening Man's attention to the means of defence and attack, which probably led to some of the earliest of his inventions, have laid the foundation for those improvements in the arts, in which we now find them ; and thus have indirectly proved the source of the greatest utility to Man. While, by furnish- ing him with furs and other parts of their bodies, such animals have directly been the means of pro- 364 ON THE moting that extensive commerce, upon the sue* cess of which, his wealth, and his importance so mainly depend. Thus the closer we examine the plans of provi- dence, the greater reason have we to be convin- ced, that in no instance has an evil occured, without its being more than compensated, by some preponderating good. In confirmation of the great effect of civilization, and of the impro- ved state of the arts, in contributing to the des- truction of the more offensive animals, we may adduce the present state of many portions of Europe, which, in former times, only served as shelter to Bears and other large carnivorous ani- mals ; but which, now, are covered with domestic herds and flocks, or are engaged in extensive cul- tivation for their support; while in this country in particular, which, not a very long period back was overwhelmed with Wolves and Foxes; the former animals have been completely extirpated, and the latter so diminished in numbers, that we may look forward at no very distant era, for their total extinction. In The Tropical and Polar Latiudes, the inhabi- tants have still to contend with ferocious animals ; but these by, improved cultivation, have been so generally confined to swampy desarts and to the remotest forests, and by an advancing population, are in the way of being still further restricted ; that their depredations, it] is reasonably to be MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. conjectured, will in a few years cease to be formidable. If we look back to the Antidiluvian state of the globe, Geology informs us, that the face of it must have been over run with a much greater number of wild animals, and many of a still more ferocious character, than those which have inhabi- ted it since the era of the deluge ; as not only vast col lections of the remains of the offensive and other animals of Tropical and Polar Latitudes (as the Tiger, the Hysena, the Bear, the Crocodile, the Elephant, the Rhinoceros, the Hippopotamus, and many of a smaller species,) have been found in various caves of the temperate portions of Europe, and in this country in particular, as so ably illustrated by professor Buckland ; but fos- sil specimens of immense Carnivorous animals intermixed with those of the ruminating order, have been discovered in the various strata of the different portions of Europe, and America, of which we have no living specimens at the present day. This would lead us to conjecture, that the de- luge, like other great visitations, has been pro- ductive to the subsequent race of mankind, of some very permanent good; not only by limit- ing the numbers of the more ferocious animals, but probably also, by rendering the vegetable and mineral kingdoms, more accessible and suit- able to Man, under that progressive state 366 ON THE ation, which, from our present experience we find he was destined to reach. In examining some of the living animals be- longing to the order of FercB, and those the most dangerous to the human person, we cannot but be struck with the beauty and proportions which nature has bestowed on their external form ; and how often in the more useful animals, as in the Elephant, the Camel, the Ass, and the like, she has given an unseemly exterior. For in what animal do we see, so dignified a countenance, so noble a mane and chest, and limbs so powerful and well proportioned, as in the Lion? or where do we find a skin so beautifully variegated, cover- ing a body and frame so vigorous and over- whelming, as in the Tiger ; who by one single stroke of his foot, can beat to the ground an ani- mal larger than himself, and by one bound can make a leap, equal to the swiftest of the animal species ? and if we descend to animals of the smaller tribes, we have the Panther, the Leopard, and the Tiger Cat, as specimens of beauty, rare- ly to be equalled by any other portion of the quadruped race. For though among our domes- tic animals, as the Dog, the Horse, and some of the Goat and Deer species, we find many cau- ses in their figure for our admiration ; yet these bear no proportion in those external marks of beauty, by which the animals above alluded to, are to be distinguished. MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 367 But this ornamental exterior r intended no doubt for some useful purposes in nature, which, under our present limited comprehension, we cannot explain, proves to these animals, their greatest bane; since they form the great induce- ment for our own species, even at the risk of their lives, to destroy them for the sake of their skins; thus appearing to justify the observation, that might be equally applied to our own kind ; namely,that exterior beauty alone will rarely com- mand lasting protection and countenance, when the other still more essential good qualities are wanting. As these are few of the animals upon which I have just been treating, that have not been ren- dered familiar to you by personal observation, or from popular description, I shall call your par- ticular attention only to the Kangaroo, whose his- tory has been rendered interesting from the pecu- liarity of its structure, and from its having been seen in no other country but New South Wales and its dependencies ; but whose physical cha- racter and propensities are so directly at variance with most of the other animals which Linnaeus has placed in this order, that Cuvier has, with more propriety, attached it to his division of Marsupiata, or animals with pouches, to which also belong the different varieties of the Opossian. But as the Opossum makes use of its extremities like other quadrupeds, and the Kangaroo, from 868 ON THE the shortness of its fore legs, moves principally on its hind feet by bounds and leaps ; the latter is ob- viously entitled to a distinct, and separate con- sideration. The only quadruped which resembles the Kangaroo in the particular quality just alluded to, (if we except the Kangaroo Rat, also confined to New South Wales, and which may be considered a dwarf variety of that animal,) is the Jerboa, a specimen of which is now presented to you. But it wants the abdominal pouch to mark its near affinity to the Kangaroo, and is not an inhabitant of New South Wales, but of Egypt, East Barba* ry, and Arabia, It is, as you will perceive, about the size of a young Rat, to which in its external conforma- tion, (excepting in the disproportion of its legs from which it derives the quality of leaping on its hind feet, like the Kangaroo,) it bears no small resemblance; but contrary to the Rat, it is perfect- ly harmless, living entirely on fresh vegetables, and, like the Rabbit, forming burrows for its retreat. The Kangaroo, now to be described, contrary to most of the other animals noted down by Lin- naeus in his order of Ferae, which it is well known live on raw flesh, and only accidentally congre- gate ; is in every respect a gregarious animal, feeding entirely on grass and other vegetable sub- stances. It was first noticed in the year 1 770* MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. in New South Wales by Sir Joseph Banks, when accompanying Captain Cooke in his voyage of discovery ; and since, has been frequently found to exceed the size of a full grown sheep, and. when standing on its hind feet in the act of leaping, to he equal in height to a middle sized man ; measuring from the point of the nose, to the extremity of the tail, more than six feet, and weighing nearly one hundred and forty pounds. Kangaroos, even larger than the above, have been killed in New South Wales; but those of the common size, may be estimated at two thirds less, and there are still smaller species to be met with in that country. Upon our fir'st view of this animal, whose color is of a mouse grey, we are immediately struck with the elegant, and tapering form of its head, neck, and shoulders, compared with the great bulk and muscular strength of the lower part of its body ; with the diminutive length, and small- ness of the fore legs, in proportion to those of the hind ones ; with the very extraordinary strength of its tail ; arid with the peculiar arrangement of its teeth, having six incisors or front teeth in the upper jaw, the two middle ones being much lar- ger and more pointed than the other four, and only two incisors, extremely large, long, and pro- minent, in the lower one; each jaw having ten grinders, without the canine teeth peculiar to the B B 370 ON THE Opossum, which, in every respect, may be con- sidered a carnivorous animals. But the most curious part of its mechanism, is the abdominal pouch of the female, in which is completed the formation of its young, and which afterwards serves as a retreat for it, until it finally quits its parent. This bag is produced by a folding or doubling of the common integuments at the lower part of the abdomen, so as to form an open pouch which admits of the offspring passing- out, and returning at pleasure ; arid this outlet by the agency of in- ternal muscles, can, at the will of the animal, be so firmly closed, as hardly to be perceptible to the naked eye, and then not to be opened, but by the greatest mechanical force. Within this extra receptacle, the young of the Kangaroo, and of the Opossum tribes, are com- pleted in their form, and are suckled ; the former not quitting it, until it has reached the size of a small poodle Dog; and continuing to make use of it as a retreat, for a considerable period after it can help itself; jumping in and out with great great rapidity, as is the practice also of the young Opossums. Thus the young of the Kangaroo and of the Opossum tribes, are better secured against external injury, than those perhaps of any other animal ; but why this deviation from that general rule which obtains in all other Quadrupeds, should be confined to those tribes* and which, with ANIMALS. 371 the exception of the American Opossums, and a few in the Indian Islands, are only to be met with in New South Wales and its dependencies, is a circumstance, we can as little comprehend, as we can explain many other very extraordinary phenomena, which, in the natural world, are so frequently presented to our observation. The Kangaroo, unlike the Opossum, which often brings forth a very numerous offspring and accommodates the whole in her abdominal pouch, has rarely more than one at a time; and if we except the peculiar conformation which we have just explained, may be considered altogether a very different animal from the Opossum, though Linnaeus has made it one of the species of that genus. The motions of the Kangaroo also are very dif- ferent from those of the Opossum, whose legs are formed, and used, the same as most other Quadrupeds ; while the actions of the Kangaroo, excepting at the time of grazing, or of burrowing under ground to form its retreat and for which its sharp, hooked claws are well adapted, are always performed on its bind legs assisted by its powerful tail, which, acting as a lever, produ- ces all the effect of an extra limb ; and these together, enable it to take such broad and rapid leaps, that the fleetest grey hound can scarcely overtake it ; making bounds of twenty feet, or more at a time, and with the greatest ease springing B B 2 ON THE from rock to rock over bushes more than seven feet in height; and if finally thrown on its back, using its tail and all its sharp claws at once in its defence, and with an actvity and force, that never fail to painfully annoy its enemy, and some- times fairly to drive him from the field. The Kangaroo, however, is naturally a very inoffensive animal, feeding 1 entirely on grass, and the smaller vegetable substances. It is killed by the Natives, for the sake of its flesh, which is stated to be tender and well flavoured, and of its skin, which serves as their only clothing ; many of them being without even this very simple re- source. Having lately had more than one opportunity of seeing three Kangaroos at their feeding time, I am enabled to speak with more confidence on their form and actions. Upon the first approach to these animals, they were thrown into the awk- ward position of resting on all their legs to take their food ; but upon my urging them with the point of my umbrella, they immediately assuu, rl the erect attitude, by resting upon the whole length of their hind legs, and jumping in the man- ner, and with all the facility of the most active bird ; thus confirming an observation made in my last lecture, viz. that in many instances, nature has given to animals, very opposite in their kind, cer- tain external resemblances, without interfering with that general unity of character, by which MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 373 each portion of the Creation, animate as well as inanimate, is so obviously to be distinguished. The animals belonging to the fourth order of Linnaeus, are known by their having two remark- ably large, long, and chisel-shaped front teeth in each jaw, and no canine teeth ; by their legs being formed for running and bounding ; and by their feet beinc: armed with claws for scratching. They live principally upon the roots, bark, and other parts of vegetable substances, a few only eating animal food ; and as their operations are carried on principally during the night, and as they sleep much in the day, this order has been denominated Glires, from Glis, the Dormouse, though Cuvier has more correctly classed them in his division of Rodentia, or gnawing animals. This order consists of eight genera, namely, the Porcupine; the Hare, including the Rabbit; the Castor or Beaver ; the Rat, embracing the common Mouse, and the Dormouse ; the Guinea Pig; the Marmot; the Jerboa, previously des- cribed ; and the Hydrax, a Cape animal resemb- ling- the Marmot. All the animals in this order, from their wild and predatory habits, from their feeding on the most useful vegetable substances, and from their propensity to gnaw every obstacle that stands in their way, are more or less destructive to human property. But there are three of the species, namely, the Beaver, the Hare, and the Rabbit, 874 ON TE which directly admit of practical uses; while most of the others are employed as food by the uncivilized inhabitants of the countries in which they prevail, and with these people, their skins also are often brought into use. Among the animals classed by Linnaeus, in his order of Glires, the JBeaver, from the peculiarity of its instincts and habits, is in every particular deserving of historical notice, and therefore I shall confine my observations to this animal. The Castor Fiber, or Beaver ; is rather larger than the Badger, measuring about three feet in length, from the tip of the nose to the tail, and weighing from fifty to sixty pounds. It is an inhabitant of the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America, hut particularly of Canada, where it is to be found in the woody banks of rivers and unfrequented lakes, feeding on the bark and leaves of trees peculiar to those situations, avoid- ing animal food of every kind; though it has been stated by some authors, that it partakes of cray fish ; a circumstance, considering its usua4 pro- pensities and the formation of its teeth, very much to be doubted. Its outline presents a head, thick and pyrami- dal, with small, circular eyes, short ears almost concealed in its fur, and a blunt nose a thick and short neck and a very strong,compact body, highly arched in the back, terminating in a tail about a foot in length, partly enveloped in fur, MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 375 and partly encased in close and compact scales, adjusted like those of the fish, and which, convex above, and broad and flat below, is particularly suited to the purposes for which this instrument seems to have been intended ; namely, as a pad- dle and rudder to forward and regulate the animal's motion when swimming ; and as a trowel to press together, and afterwards to plaster the materials, which it uses for the erection of its habitation. Its fore feet, which resemble in shape those of the Rat, are small and short; having five divided toes, strongly armed with claws, well calculated for digging the holes into which are to be deposi- ted the foundation of its building ; and these feet, like the Squirrel, it also uses as hands to convey substances to its mouth, or to assist in re- moving them from one place to another, when it is in the act of collecting its materials. Its hind feet are made large and powerful with five toes connected like those of the Goose by a strong membrane or web, which affords to the animal that facility in swimming that forms so peculiar a part of its habits. It is owing to this difference in the structure of the fore and hind legs, that the Beaver swims better than it can walk ; the latter action consisting of a shuffling kind of motion, which throws its head low, and very considerably increases the arch of the back. Its head, the whole of the body, and a part of 876 ON THE its tail, are covered with a double fur; the one next to the skin and of which our hats are manu- factured, being a soft, downy substance, well cal- culated to act against the severe cold by which the Winters in Northerly latitudes are to be distinguished ; while the exterior coat is for- med of long, strait, and coarse hair, of a dark chesnut colour, approaching to black; in some, of a deep black ; in afew, of a milk white; more rare- ly of a cream color; and sometimes, of patches of black spots upon a white ground. This coat, while it adds, to the warmth of the animal, seems intended, like the feathers of aquatic Birds, to throw of the water from its several points, while the Beaver is in the act of swimming, and thus to preserve the skin from the influence of the wet, to which, from the habits of the animal, it would otherwise be constantly exposed. The under Fur, from its universal application in the manufacture of hats, it is well known, forms a very important and leading article of commerce ; and it is for this, and to obtain an useful article in medicine, named Castor, which is procured from glands situated at the lower part of the animal's abdomen, that the Beaver is liunted and destroyed for European purposes ; while the natives kill it for the sake of its flesh, which they eat, and of its skin, which they use as an article of clothing. But one of the most interesting parts of its. MAMMIPEROUS ANIMALS. 87? structure, is the teeth; by the agency of which, so many important operations of this animal, are to be performed. These, like the other animals of the same order, consist only of molars or cheek teeth, and incisors or cutting Teeth, between which, from the absence of the Cnnines, there is necessarily a blank space. The molars, which are eight in each jaw, have their sutures deeply divided by small ridges, which increase their capability of grinding the hard substances, as wood, the bark of trees, and the like, which constitute the Beaver's food ; and ofgrasping them firmly when conveying them from one place to another; while the incisors, two above, and the same below, are of a prismatic shape, running out long and strong into a sharp, chisel formed edge, by which the animal is enabled with wonderful rapidity and effect, to gnaw through and divide those trees and iheir branches used, as before stated, for their food and as one of the chief materials of their buildings ; and as these teeth, by con- stant detrition, are liable to wear out, nature has provided them with a renovating power, by which the supply of new matter keeps pace with the exhaustion of that already in use. I should not have engrossed so much of your attention in detailing the structure of this animal, had it not been so closely interwoven with ac- tions, that have rendered the Beaver, in the esti- 378 ON THE mation of some naturalists, the most intellectual of the mammiferous Quadrupeds, and even al- most contending with Man, in those inventive qualities, which have ever been considered as one of his most distinguished attributes. After the complete distribution of the several members of their society, during the spring and early summer months, into the recesses of the Forest; to reassemble them in colonial order at the commencement of Autumn, upon the banks of some river, or lake, there to determine in what part of the water they shall fix their winter abode ; lo assign to a certain number of each sex, the part they shall have to perform in the completion of their object ; to build a dam across the stream when a river is decided upon, by means of stakes and earthy materials, so placed as to stop the current of the water, in order that it shall always retain are equal elevation in those parts where their houses are to he erected ; to cut down trees with their teeth, and convert them into stakes which, by burrowing- holes with their fore feet they shall afterwards fix upright in the water in double rows to serve as pillars for their future edifices ; to slip oflf and pare the branches of those trees and interwove them between the up- rights so as to form receptacles for the earth ,and other materials brought thither by their mouths and feet for the erection of those buildings; and to press the materials down with their feet and MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 379 tail so effectually, that not the least particle of air or water ran penetrate, and so strong- and du- rable, that only by the application of the greatest force they can be destroyed; to give to their habi- tations floors, roofs, and separate apartments for their winter stores and for sleeping, and to plas- ter them over with all the nicety and effect of the most expert mason, and to live harmonious- ly in considerable numbers of both sexes in one chamber, as interestingly detailed in Buffon's Natural History, and confirmed by the most au- thentic testimonies which local experience can afford ; are certainly most wonderful circumstan- ces, and such as strikingly to illustrate the diversi- fied means by which the Creation is regulated, so as to preserve a due unity,and yet each performing, a distinct and separate part. But however such phenomena may excite our warmest admiration, as proofs of the care which has been bestowed on each portion of the Natural World; yet when we come to reflect, that the Beaver, so ingenious, and so provident in this particular instance, when brought to the test of domestication, (for it is susceptible of being ren- dered completely tame,) has proved totally inca- pable of being instructed in any other operations beyond those we have detailed, and certainly much less so, than many other animals under similar circumstances ; we can only consider ks actions as a perfection of instincts which are 880 ON THE necessary to the preservation of the animal under all the contingencies to which it is exposed ; and not in the least degree connected with reason, whose attributes are not confined to the accom- plishment of one particular object, as in the Bea- ver, nor to any specific mode of performance ; and it is to this circumstance that we may attri- bute the difference between human, and natural architecture. The one as liable to a fluctuating judgment, however diversified by a variety of plans so as to answer very multiplied purposes, is often deficient in some of its most essential parts. While the other, depending upon fixed and invariable laws, is always perfect, and cal- culated to produce the desired effect even in the minutest particular ; but is uniformly limited to one object, from which it in no instance deviates.. But the wonderfully instinctive powers so ob- viously displayed in the Beaver, are not confined to that animal ; since the Bee, the Spider, the Ant, and we have no doubt, many other animals, could their economy be as nicely ascertained, would be found to possess inventive faculties as comprehensive, and terminating in results equally explanatory of the contrivance, and order by which the natural world has been regulated, as the animal under consideration. In the fifth order of Linnaeus, all the ruminat- ing animals are included ; and as among these the Sheep forms the most numerons tribe, this MAMMIFltOUS ANIMALS. 381 order has been denominated Pecora. It is dis- tinguished by the animals having no front teeth in their upper jaw, though from eight to ten in the under ; and with a varying number of grind- ers, by their being without canine teeth, the ab- sence of incisors in their upper jaw, obliging them to use their tongue as an auxiliary when feeding; by most of the animals having norns, or, in their absence, projecting tusks for their na- tural defence; by their feet being protected by cloven hoofs ; by the second mastication or ru- mination of their food, and by their requiring four stomachs, and a very long intestinal canal for its digestion and final conversion into the pro- per nutriment. This order consists of eight genera ; namely, the Ox species; the Sheep ; the Goat; the Stag ; the Antelope; the Girajfa or Cameleopard; the Musk, and the Camel. Of these I shall confine my particular obser- vations to the four last, and conclude my notice of this order, by a few general remarks on the utility of the preceding ones. The Common Antelope is an intermediate ani- mal, between the Goat and the Deer; the form of its body agreeing with the latter while its horns partake of those of the Goat. It is some- what smaller than the Fallow Deer, of a tawny, reddish brown colour above, and of a white be- neath; with beautiful black horns distinguished 382 ON THB by a double flexure, and by numerons prominent rings or circles throughout their whole length. It is altogethera most light, and elegant animal, inhabiting often in herds of two or three thousand, the hilly countries of the warmer latitudes of Asia, and Africa ; where, like the Goat, it clamb- ers up precipitous rocks to browse upon their scanty productions, or it feeds upon the tender shoots of trees peculiar to those regions ; being active, restless, timid, and wonderfully swift ; bounding from place to place with vast elasticity, and, when alarmed, making extraordinary leaps over precipices and gaps, or whatever may inter- rupt its progress ; frequently stopping to watch its pursuers, and then, with increased energy, renewing its flight. Next to the elegant form of its body and limbs the symmetry of which, nature has displayed its greatest taste, it is distinguished by those full and beautifully black eyes, that so often have formed the subject of romantic eulo- gium and simile in Eastern Poetry. Among the varieties of the Antelope genus, the Gnou, which 1 lately had an opportunity of seeing alive in London, from its singular con- firmation, has especially attracted the notice of naturalists. This animal, to Which the African name of Gnou has been given from its bellowing like an ox, is a native of the plains of Numagua, to the north of the Cape of Good Hope, and by some MAMMIFERODS ANIMALS. 383 naturalists has been classed with the Goat. It forms a strange mixture of other animals, the head resembling the ox ; the body, mane, and tail, the Horse ; the legs, the Stag- ; the lachry- mal sinus, the Antelope ; and the horns, the Goat. It is rather below the size of a common Galloway, its general colour being of a dark brown, with the exception of the tail and mane, which are of a light grey ; and of the shagg on the chin and breast, and the stiff hairs that stand erect on the forehead and upper part of the face, which are all black. The head is very large, thick, and clumsy, like that of the ox ; with a square mouth, and broad flaps over the nostrils, and short stiff hairs on both lips ; those on the under lip, being inter- mixed with long bristles. Over the nose, there is a long, stiff brush of black hair ; and upon the chin, throat, and chest, extending between the fore legs, a hanging beard or brush of wh te hair, which gives a peculiar char- acter to the animal's external aspect. Upon the neck, which is short, thick, and some- what arched, we observe a strong, erect and ash colored mane, and this, with the tail, which is long, white and flowing, resembles that of (he Horse. ks horns which are black, strong and scabrous, take a very peculiar direction, as you will perceive by the specimen presented to you, and in their structure approach the nearest ta those of the Goat. 384 ON THE The body, as previously observed, hears resem : blance to a well formed horse; its long, elegant, and slender legs, to that of the Stag, the half for- med spurious hoof on each foot, being peculiar to itself; while the orbits of the eyes, approximate the nearest to the Antelope. The Gnou feeds in large herds on the African plains, where it fiercely and furiously defends itself against its adversaries with its very power- ful horns, which serves an instrument of great defence. We have here another very striking proof of some portion of the external form peculiar to dif- ferent animals being united in one species, with- out interfering with the particular laws arid habits by which each is governed ; thus display- ing the variety in which nature loves to indulge, without losing sight of those fixed and determin- ate rules, by which her operations are generally governed. The Giraffa, or Camelcopard, is an African Animal of very singular appearance; the neck being remarkably long in proportion to the body, which, covered with a beautiful spotted skin not unlike that of the Panther, slopes back so mnch as to give a still greater prominence to the neck, and to render the animal, when the neck and head are erect, more than eighteen feet in height, and thus the tallest of the Quadruped race. Its head bears a considerable resemblance to MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 385 that of the Horse, excepting that it is furnished with erect horns about six inches in length, which, from being never cast, may be considered permanent. These horns are unbrancheri, and covered with a hairy skin, terminating in a tuft of short bristles. Its neck, which is adorned with a short mane, is peculiarly long, slender, and elegant, giving to the Animala most graceful appearance. Its fore and hind legs, are nearly of equal length ; but its shoulders are so prominent,that, thro wing the back off in adescending arch, they convey to the mind a greater idea of elevation in the fore legs and neck, than they actually possess, particularly when the animal is reaching at snbstances igh- er than itself. The Cameleopardis naturally a gentle and timid animal, confining its haunts to the interior forests of the warmer latitudes of Africa, where it browses on the leaves and smaller branches of trees, particularly of the mimosa or gum arabic tree, and to which the great length and form of its neck, admirably adapt it. When taken young, (for the adult animal is rarely caught,) it is very easily tamed and domesticated, readily associating with any other animals that may be grazing in the same pasture with itself; as may have been observed in His Majesty's Park at Windsor, where one of this c c 386 ON THE description was placed; but which, lately, has fallen a sacrifice to the lower temperature of our climate. The Musk, is an inhabitant of the higher moun- tains of Thibet, and of the barren and snowy Regions of Central Asia. It resembles in size and general appearance, the Koebuck; but it dif- fers from it, as well as from all the ruminating animals, excepting the Camel tribes, in having no horns ; and from the Camel also, in being fur- nished with long, sharp, crooked tusks one on each side, pointing directly downwards and projecting nearly two inches beyond the lip, which are used for hooking up roots, and as, an instrument of defence; and in possessing in the middle part of the abdomen, a sac about the size of an egg, that supplies the musk of the shops, which, when fresh from the sac, is stated to be so excessively penetrating, as to force blood from the nose, eyes, and ears, of those who incautiously smell it. This well known remedy and perfume, when taken from the musk, is deposited in small bladders, and sent to Europe ; where, from the difficulty of obtaining the animal, it was at first sold for the exorbitant price of a guinea an ounce; but of late years, in consequence of musk being much less used than formerly, it is fallen very considerably in value. The Pygmy Musk, is a very elegant little quadruped, about the size of a small cat, and is MAM MI FERGUS ANIMALS. 387 an inhabitant of Java and Sumatra, and so delicate in constitution, as to be incapable of being brought alive to Europe. It is distinguished by very minute legs and hoofs, the former, not exceeding a quill in diameter; by posssessing only very doubiful tusks, if any at all; arid by not having, like the Thibet musk, a sac to furnish the perfume from which it derives its name, which has led some naturalists to consider it only a variety of the Antelope. We come now to the history of an animal which, from the peculiarity of its structure, and from the important uses to which it is applied, is well de- Serving of your particular notice. I allude to the Camel, one of the chief domestic animals of Arabia and of Northern Africa, and where, from being the only channel of conveyance over the vast seas of sand and desolation peculiar to those countries, and from the local difficulties it has to overcome in the accomplishment of its jour- ney, it has emphatically been denominated by the natives, the Ship of the Desarf.. Previously however to our account of this ani- mal, it may be proper to remark, that in the ge- nus to which the Camel belongs, there are in all seven species ; but of these only two may be con- sidered as properly constituting what is familiarly understood by the term, Camel ; and these are the Bactrian Camel, with two hunches on its back, which is peculiar to Central Asia; and the Ara- c c 2 888 ON THE Man Camel, with only one hunch, which is to be found in Persia, Egypt, and more generally in Arabia, the Barbary States, and beyond the great African Desarts, as far as Nigritia. It is to the Arabian Camel with which my ex- perience in Africa has rendered me the most fa- miliar, that 1 wish to invite your attention, more particularly as it is this animal which is the most comprehensively used, and the best calculated to overcome the local difficulties, peculiar to the countries in which it is to be found. This most useful animal, which has been im- properly denominated by Linneeus, the Drome- dary, (a term applied by the Natives to a swifter species of Camel,) like the Kbphant, is not cal- culated, at first sight, to make a pleasing impres- sion on the mind of the stranger. A small head with short ears, and dull, heavy eyes, united by a long and very arched neck to a coarsely formed body, with a large hunch in the middle of the back; a tail with a full bush of hair at its extremity, hanging most ungracefully to the first joint of the hind legs; straight and disproportioned legs terminating in clumsy look- ing feet; and a slow, but long striding pace, in which the head is thrown most awkwardly pro- minent; are a!l circumstances peculiarly unfa- vourable to the external appearance ot this animal But, upon a nearer examination we shall find. MAMM1FEROUS ANIMALS. 389 that each of these parts, so unprepossessing in their aspect, has its own especial use in enabling the animal to perform those respective functions, for which it was most obviously created. For the small head and ears, and the length and va- rying form of the neck, are particularly titted to penetrate, without injury, the prickly trees and shrubs upon whose branches it is often compelled to feed ; and these, combined with the structure of its teeth, which partly partake of those of the horse, and partly of the other ruminating animals, enable it to seize and masticate substances, which the latter could neither reach, nor swallow. The hunch on the back serves as a protection to the rider who sits behind it, and to fix upon it with more steadiness, those heavy articles which it is intended to carry. The bushy extre- mity of a powerful tail, is successfully used in driving off from its flanks, the offensive insects that swarm in the countries over which it has to pahs ; while the length and direction of its legs, and the peculiarity in the formation of its feet, consisting of two elongated toes, protected above, by strong nails, and below, by a thick, horny, but elastic pad, altogether give it that stabi- lity on the ground, and that adaptation of its feet to the soil, which are most essential to a beast of burden, used in conveying very heavy arid cumbersome weights, over deep sands, in which every other animal would fail in the at- tempt. 390 ON THE But the most curious provision in the Camel, is in its being furnished, contrary to the other rumi- nating animals, with a fifth stomach, by which it is enabled to retain a large proportion of water for future use upon those emergencies, when a scarcity of that most esseniial fluid, forms one of the leading incidents of an African Journey over the Desart. This consists of a series of cellular bags, often amounting to thirty, which are formed between the first and second stomachs, each capable of containing a certain quantity of water, which, by muscular action, can be regurgitated at the plea- sure of the animal, so as for several days together to relieve the mouth and throat from that intense thirst, which the climate and fatigues of the jour- ney never fail to create; and this confers on the Camel an additional means of performing jour- nies, , which other animals could not undergo, without almost a certain prospect of their des- truction. Thus, in investigating the works of nature, we are not to allow the imagination to supercede our deeper judgment; since there is not the mi- nutest portion of an animal, or even of a vege- table, however unaccountable it may appear to us at first sight, that will not upon a closer exami- nation, be found to have a most useful tendency; and convince us, that the gratification of the eve, however no doubt partly intended to harmon- MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. ize the human mind to the surrounding objects; has been but of secondary consideration, in the views of providence, when a much more impor- tant end was to be answered. The general utility of the Camel is too well understood to stand in need of a copious illustra- tion. It is obviously an animal of vast import- ance ia the countries in which it is a native, where civilization has not led to the use of land car- riages, and more especially, where the nature of the soil is unfavourable to their application. The great desarls of Arabia and of Africa, where unbounded desolation marks their trackless surface, would never have been traversed with- out the aid of this most useful animal ; which, at the slightest signal, docily bending his knee to the ground to receive on his back a load often exceeding six hundred weight, by the single guidance of a rope fixed to its nose, it proceeds with measured steps over those regions of sand and sterility, where no other beast of burden can find a hold ; and whose scanty vegetation and arid surface, exclude the hope of supplies to less hardy animals. Endued, as we have previously stated, by means of a cellular stomach, with the power of retaining a large proportion of water, and after- wards, .by muscular action, of regurgitating it as it stands in need ; and laving in aa ample .supply of provisions in another stomach, which, 392 ON THJG by subsequent rumination serves to diminish the degree of hunger to which other animals would be exposed ; ; .t seems formed by nature for the especial duties which human conveuiencies have assigned to it ; affording one of those numerous instances, in which Providence has so benevo- lently adapted its operations to the necessities of the occasion ; and where the deficiencies on the one hand, have been most amply compen- sated by a proportionate accommodation in the other. In all those parts of Turkey, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, and Barbary, where land carriages would be of little avail, the whole commerce is conduct- ed by means of Camels ; and thus, as in the Elephant, communications the most important have been preserved between places, to which mankind, otherwise, would never have had success; while population has been intro- duced into regions, which, without the aid of this most invaluable animal, would have been left to the remorseless tiger, or to the still more wary, (though not less destructive) serpent. The Arab of the desart, in a few instances the faithful guide of the uninstructed traveller, though too often his most treacherous foe, by means of the accommodating Camel, finds a residence in the dreary desarts of Africa and Asia, where, from the unkindness of the soil and climate, ho other human being dare to fix his abode; and MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 393 from that animal he derives his habitation, his food, his clothing, aud in many instances, his medicine. From the hair of the Camel, his tents and dresses are manufactured ; from the skin, his leather; from his flesh aud milk is furnished a nutritive, and wholesome repast; and from his manure, he obtains his remedies ; and when desperately pressed for water, by destroying the animal, he finds a most ample resource in the cells of his stomach. Of the usefulness of our owndosmestic animals of the ruminating' class, a very few observations will suffice ; since their importance is familiarly brought home to our feelings and conviction, as forming the great source fiom which most of our comforts, and some of our principal luxuries, are procured. In illustration, we need only mention the Ox species and the Sheep (not to say the Goat and the Slag,) to bring to your recollection how com- prehensively those animals are called into utility, throughout every part of the world where civi- lization has marked the steps of man. From these animals, as applicable to our im- mediate necessities, it is well known, we derive our principal articles of food and clothing; and through one of them, (the Ox,) a very consider- able auxiliary to the labours of the field. From various parts of their bodies, we also are fur- nished with those sources of barter and com- 394 ON THE merce, our butter, our cheese, our tallow, our woo!, and our hides, which not only supply us with our immediate necessities, and obtain for us in return foreign commodities to an amount, highly favourable to individual wealth and to national prosperity; but also through the medium of that commerce, we have a< quired a know- ledge of countries and their resources, of which, few other nations have hitherto been susceptible. For the support of animals, so universally ap- plicable to human wants and conveniences, agri- culture in all its comprehensiveness, has, hj this favoured country at least, been brought into its fullest activity ; and from the virtuous occupa- tions and manly pursuits to which it has given rise, and from the interest it excites in the soil to which we are attached ; it blends in its oper- ations and consequences, not only vast national importance, but some of the best feelings and noblest propensities of our nature. A genuine love of our country and of its invaluable insti- tutions, and a laudable emulation to improve its resources ; an affectionate attachment to our friends and connections, and a benevolent dis- position towards our species in general ; and lastly, (though not the least in our estimation,) a kind and protecting humanity to those useful animals, through which we principally derive every blessing which agriculture, and a soil that is congenial, can bestow. MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 395 In the sixth order of Linnaeus, and the last of the Mammiferous Quadrupeds, the animals are distinguished by obtuse front teeth, and by hoofed feet, and as they are bulky and heavy, this order has been denominated Belluce. It consists only of four genera, the Hippopota- mus, the Tapirdhe flog, and the Horse; animals as opposed to each other in their formation arid cha- racter, as could well have been brought together. Thus the Hog, inferior both in form and inteli- gence, has been placed upon a footing with the Horse, one of the noblest of the Quadruped race; while both those animals, so useful in their respective ways for domestic purposes, have been ranked with the Hippopotamus and the Tapir, which are altogether remote from observation, and in their habits and propensities, the most destructiveto human property. As the latter animals however are singular in their form and haunts, a brief account of each, may not prove uninteresting. If the Jilephant and the Camel, present to the eye an un pleasing exterior, the Hippopotamus, or River Horse, with none of the good qualities by which the two former animals are to be distin- guished, is a far more disgusting object. Its head ; s of an enormous size, which is ren- dered the more striking, from the diminutive pro- portion of its eyes, ears, and nostrils, from the great magnitude of its mouth, which, when wide open, has measured two feet in circumference, 396 ON THE and from the extraordinary and irregular distribu- tion of its teeth, amounting in all to 40 and giving to this part of its frame alone, an aspect peculiarly disgusting. In reverting to its teeth, we find, in the up- per jaw, four incisors in separate pairs and dis- tinct from the other teeth, and the same in the under, the intermediate ones heing the longest; and two canine teeth or tusks in each jaw, in form prismatic, sharp, and crooked standing solitary and projecting, and of so hard a texture, that they will strike fire with flint, but whose Ivory is so beautifully fine and white, that it is often prefer- ed to that of the Elephant, more especially for artificial teeth.-^-These tusks have been known to measure 32 inches in length. The grinders, of which a specimen is on the table, are also so large, that a single tooth has been known to weigh three pounds. Its body, which is only very scantily covered with white hair, is immensely bulky, being scarce- ly less than that of the Elephant, and weighing in some instances more than 3000 pounds; and though placed upon very short legs, the height of the animal from the arch of the back to the ground, has been known to exceed seven feet. Its legs are short, thick, and clumsy, with feet broad, arid hoofed on the edges; the hoofs being divided into four parts, or toes. Its tail, which is about a foot long, is taper, conpressed, and MAM MI FERGUS ANIMALS. 007 naked and not unlike that of the Hog. Its skin, which is of a dusky color, is remarkably thick and strong, and so resisting, that the largest mus- ket ball can hardly penetrate it. With such a prodigious strength of body, the Hippopotamus ought to be a match for every other animal ; since its bulk has been found so great, that after being killed in the water, it has required twelve Oxen to draw it in shore ; yet it is naturally so timid, that it makes no at- tack until it has been wounded, and then it furiously assaults the boats sent in pursuit of it, and will often sink them by biting large pieces out of their sides. It is an inhabitant of the Rivers in the interi- or parts of Africa from the Niger to the Bengal River, many miles to the North of the Cape of Good Hope, and in those streams it delights to live ; * leaving the water only during the night in search of pasturage in which it consumes great quantities of Sugar Canes, Rice, Millett, and other vegetable productions ; feeding also upon the roots of trees, which it loosens up with its great tusks, and thus doing altogether great damage in cultivated countries, but avoid- ing animal food of every kind. When alarmed, it retires rapidly to the river, where it sinks to, * It lias also been found in the Nile in upper Egypt, an.d in the fens and lakes of Ethiopia contiguous to that River. 898 ON THE and walks at the bottom with the greatest ease, only rising to the surface for a fresh supply of air $ and though it is not provided like the Beaver j with membranes between its toes, yet the buoy- ancy of its body, enables it to swim with great facility. Jn the countries which it inhabits, its flesh is Considered by the Natives, a great luxury. Its skin is made into whips, shields, and the like ; and its tusks are sold as Ivory, which, as before stated, is con>idered to be finer and superior for many purposes, than that of the Elephant. So that this animal so disgusting in its exterior aspect and so remote and so peculiar in its haunts and habits, is found out, and rendered subservient to human purposes ; thus confirming a former ob- servation, that the more we examine the works of nature, the more are we convinced of the obvious Utility of which each portion of it is susceptible. This animal which was well known to the Romans, has been noticed in several passages in scripture under the denomination of the Behe- moth ; but particularly in the 40th. Chapter of Job ; where its manners, food, and haunts, have been well, but concisely described ; and though in the- living state, it has only been found in Africa, yet fossil remains of the Hippopotamus have been discovered in the South of France, in several parts of Italy, and lately at Brentford in this coun- try, about thirty feet below the surface.* " *The Head of a Hippopotamus has recently been brought MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. The^Tapir, though differing in form and mag- nitude from the other animal, may be considered, from its haunts aud habits, the Hippopotamus of America, where it is to be met with in the woods and rivers of the Southern portion of that conti- nent, from the Isthmus of Darien to the streams of the Amazon. This animal is about the size of a small Ox, and in its general conformation, is very similar to the Hog, excepting that the snout forms a pro- boscis far beyond the lower jaw, which, like that of the Elephant, can be contracted or ex- tended at pleasure ; while the back is rather more arched, and the legs shorter, in proportion to the size of the body Like the Hippopotamus, it exceeds in the number of its teeth, most other quadrupeds, hav- ing ten incisors, ten grinders, and two canine teeth in each jaw, making in all forty-two. to England, with all the flesh about it, in a high slate of preser- vation. This Amphibious Animal was harpooned while in combat with a Crocodile in a lake in the interior of Africa. The head measures near four feet long, and eight feet in cir- cumference ; the jaws open two feet wide, and the cutting teeth of which ii has four in each jaw, are above a foot long, and four inches in circumference. This formidable and terrific creature, when full grown, measures about 17 feet long from the extremi- ty of the snout to the insertion of the tail, about 16 feet in cir- cumference round the body, and stands above 7 feet high. It runs with astonishing swiftness for its greatbulk, at the bottom of lakes and rivers, but not with as much ease on land. The head is intended as a present to His Majesty." See Magazine of Natural History , Volume 1. Page 288. 400 ON THE An animal resembling the Tapir has been no- ticed in some of the Islands of the Indian Ocean, but not so frequently as exactly to determine how far it is to be considered a variety of the same species. This animal was seen and has been described by Sir Stamford Raffles. The American Tapir is a mild and inoffensive animal, frequenting the woods and rivers as we have described, and like theHippopotamus, feed- ing by night on grass, sugar canes, fruits, and the leaves of trees, and using its proboscis like the Elephant to seize and convey its food to its mouth. If attacked, or alarmed, it flies to the water, swimming with great ease, and plunging to the bottom, where, like the Hippopotamus, it walks on the ground, until compelled to return to the surface for a supply of air; and if it cannot escape, it makes a most desperate resistance both against Men and Dogs. its flesh is eaten by the Natives, and by them its skin is con- verted into leather, and used for various other purposes ; but it does not appear that its tusks, like those of the Hippopotamus, are called into any particular use. The general character of the Hog and the Horse, is too well kn:)wn, to need illustration in a lecture which may be considered altogether popular. But I cannot pass over the latter ani- mal, without bearing testimony to the noble qua- MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 401 Hties with which he is endued, and to the varied and comprehensive applications of which he? is susceptible. For in what animal do we find such a combina- tion of symmetry, strength and swiftness ; so much sagacity, boldness and docility, as in the horse ? Endued with physical powers, which, called into full activity, few animals could encounter, and by no means deficient in apprehension, he allows himself to be guided by a child ; and pa- tiently and efficiently performs his duties, only requiring ordinary attention lo attach him to the very person by whom he is most enslaved. "Without the horse, man would be deprived of one of his most useful resources, his dignity would be degraded, and his best energies be of little avail. For what would become of our agriculture and our commerce, or how are we to defend ourselves against, or attack our enemies, without the aid of this noble animal? To the horse we are not only indebted for those delightful recreations and conveniences from which wo derive our health and amusement, and that personal intercourse, w thout which, human affairs must stand still, and the charms of society lose ilxir greatest ze.st ; but als> those invaluable communications with the remoter parts of the country, lo which, so many useful considerations, public and private, are attached, p D 402 ON THE many of which, were the horse to become ex- tinct, would for ever be closed. This noble animal therefore has an irresistible claim upon our protection and humanity ; and consequently his exertions, so useful in all their varied applications, should never be wantonly abused, or ungratefully rewarded ; nor should we forget that, without his aid, man would be far more helpless than the animal, to whose la- bours and toils, he is indebted for so many of the blessings which he now enjoys. Having concluded my account of the Mammi- ferous Quadrupeds, allow me again to call your attention to the study of Natural History, in which those animals hold so conspicuous a place. The eye is so uniformly familiarized with the surround ing objects of nature, and' we intermix so much oj ourselves in all our pursuits, that we too readily lose sight of those sublimer subjects, from the knowledge of which (to say nothing of their practical usefulness) not only valuable lessons are taught us, but also are to be derived some of the highest gratifications of which the human mind is susceptible. It is well known that the attributes of the Deity, as exemplified in the works of the Crea- tion, of the several parts of which Natural History alone can make us acquainted ; have employed the pens of the wisest and best of our Philoso- phers ; of which, the works of Ray, Derham, and MAMMIFBROUS ANIMALS. 403 Paley, afford the most illustrious examples; while Men of the greatest genius have employed their time and their talents, in detailing the seve- ral portions of nature, with an accuracy and minuteness, which at once display their sense of the importance of this most interesting of stu- dies. But still, unless some accidental circumstance awaken our attention, or our minds have been directed to the subject, how often do we pass by, unn6ticed, those wonderful Phenomena in nature, by which we are in every direction surrounded (for the Creation throughout is made up of won- ders) and which ought to have been the first to engage our most anxious enquiry. Thus the Mammiferous Quadrupeds, which hold the most important place in the natural world, next only to ourselves, we find, are made up of materials similar to our own ; in their inter- nal structure with some modifications, (of no importance in a general view) they are exactly the same ; and their external form only, has been varied, because they have to perform mechanical actions, of which we, in our condition, do not stand in need. Their blood is of the same compo- sition, temperature, and color, as our own ; and is impelled by the same kind of organ, and circu- lates through similar channels ; and the air, ivhich is as necessary to preserve their lives, as ours, is called into action by an instrument as D D2 404 ON THE perfect as the one through which we breathe and have life ; while like us also, they have been endued with a brain and nervous system, to make them sensible of the pleasures and pains, of the wants and gratifications, of the affections and dislikes, and to give an impulse to those multiplied act- ions, of which life, in our more perfect state, is so amply made up. Like our species also, they live upon the pro- ductions of the earth, upon the surface of which, some of their varieties are to be met with in^very portion which has been visited by man; and many of them imitate us so closely in our actions, or associate with us so readily, contribute so es- sentially to our conveniences, cr are thrown so immediately under our care and direction ; that they appear to be only a subordinate part of the same family; and though a few, from their soli- tary and predatory propensities, have been placed beyond the pale of human protection, and are inimical to our species or to our property; yet even these, as we previously have had occasion to observe, are indirectly useful to us, by calling forth our energies to destroy them, or by the application of some parts of their bodies, which, our wants and our luxuries, have rendered it ne- cessary we should possess. And if from the su- periority of our intellectual capacities they have been placed lower in the scale of animated beings, than ourselves ; yet this has been amply com- MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 405 pensated to them, by those innate or instinctive qualities, which, while by means the must won- derful, they contribute to their preservation and enjoyment in every possible way their circum- stances may require, evince at once the pro- tecting care that has been bestowed upon each living' creature, according to its wants, and to the respective sphere in which it was intended to move. The Mammiferous Quadrupeds therefore, in all their several particulars, form a most i< terest- ing branch of Natural History, well desrmng of your investigation ; and having acquired a know- ledge of their structure, habits, and eronnmy, each of which subjects claim your minutest en- quiry, and of their general utility, more espe- cially as referable to our own species; you will not fail to be invited to examine the other parts of the Creation ; in which you will find the same wisdom and contrivance, and the same provi- dential care, as have been bestowed on the animals, whose history I have now done myself the honour to recommend to your notice. ON THE WHALE TRIBES. We corn e now to a description of animals, to which, from the peculiarity of their internal structure as opposed to their external form and habits, I have deemed it expedient to give a separate consideration. 1 allude to Ihe Whale 406 ON THE Tribes, which Linnaeus has placed in his seventh and last order of Maromalia, under the denomi- nation of Cete. These animals are readily to he distinguished from the other divisions of Mammalia, hy their living altogether in the ocean ; hy their external form, which mostly resembles that of common fishes ; by their having pectoral fins in the place of legs and feet, by which, aided hy a horizontal finny tail, their locomotion is produced ; and by their possessing spiculae, or spout holes on the top of the front of the head, through which they eject with great violence the superfluous water taken in by the mouth, when in the act of swal- lowing. In every other particular, they resemble the Mammiferous Quadrupeds ; for like them, they have warm, red blood, with a double circulation performed by a heart with two vent tides ahd two auricles, and by arteries, similar in their construc- tion and action to land animals*. They breathe by perfect lungs in the place of gills, which obliges them frequently to rise to the surface of the water for a fresh supply of air. The structure of their brain, of their thoracic and abdominal viscera, and of their bones and muscles, is upon the same principal as in the animals contained in the other orders of mammalia, and like those animals, they produce their young alive, and suckle them. So that it is only in their external form, in their MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 407 locomotive agents, and in the element in which they live, that a difference may be said to exist. The animals which belong to this order, are of four kinds : namely, the Monodon, Narwhal, or Sea Unicorn; the Balcena, or common Whale; the Physeter, Cachalot, or Sperma Ceti Whale ; and the Dolphin Tribe, including the common Dol- phin, * the Grampus, and the I'nrpois* 1 . Of these, I propose to confine my history to the three first, as being the most interesting. The Monodon, Narwhal, or, (as it has been familiary termed) the Sea Unicorn, is chiefly to be found in unfrozen portions of the Arctic Ocean, where it is occasionally to be seen in herds of great numbers not unfrequently followed by the larger Whales. This Animal, which from the mouth to the tail, rarely exceeds thirty but is more frequently below twenty feet, in length, is to be distinguished from all the other Genera, by a curious piece of mechanism, consisting of an enormous tonth or tusk) of great solidity and hardness (in a few of * The Dolphin here alluded to, which is nearly ten feet in length, and is to be met with in the seas of all latitudes, is very different from the Tropical fish to which seamen have given that appellation. The latter, Linnaeus has denominated Cory' phcena Hippurus. It is distinguished by the variety and beauty of its^colours while near the surface of the water, and when dying; and by the ingenuity it displays in pursuit of the flying Fish, its ordinary food. 408 ON THE the smaller species of two teeth) which resembling a spiral or twisted horn, is attached to Jhe socket of one side of the upper jaw, whence it projects horizontally forward to the extent of nine or ten feet, terminating at its farther extremity in a sharp point; thus rendering itone of the most for- midable instruments of defence which has been bes- towed on the animal Kingdom, being usually des- tructive to boats of every description with which it may come in contact, and even penetrating deep into the solid timbers of the largest ships. It is from this projecting tusk (the only tooth given to the -animal) that the Narwhal has receiv- ed the name of the unicorn. This defensive weapon however does not pre- vent the enierprizing Greenlander from fearlessly attacking and harpooning the fish f >r the sake of its flesh, iniestines, teeth, and Oil, the latter of which it furnishes in lar^e proportions. The flesh and intestines, and even the oil, form materi- al p.irts of the Greenlander's food ; but the prin- cipal application of the latter, is for domestic pur- poses, which, in the number of dark days of those latitudes, is an object <>f the first importance. The tendinous portions of the flesh, are split into small fibres to make thread for their very limited manu- factures, and the teeth, which aflfords very fine ivory, they barter for other articles, arid what they cannot dispose of, they con vert into gateposts fpr their houses. At Rosenberg in Denmark, (as MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 409 we are informed) there still remains an ancient Throne, composed entirely of the Ivory of the Narwhal teeth, being formerly the seat of slate of the Danish Monarchs. The 1 Narwhal however thus endued with this most formidable instrument of defence, is natural- ly a timid and inoffensive animal, rarely making iise of its physical powers, excepting when closely attacked and wounded ; and as it has no teeth but the tusk in the upper jaw, previously des- cribed, and as its gullet is extremely contracted, it lives, like the common Whale, upon the sea- blubber, and the smaller fry, peculiar to the seas which this animal frequents. But the most important of the Whale tribes, are the Common, and the Sperma Cell Whales, which not only are of very extraordinary magnitude, but also, furnish in vast proportions, those valuable articles, upon which our arctic commerce so mainly depends. The Balance Mysticelus, or Common Whale, (for there are six varieties of the Balaenae genus,) is the largest of a'l known animals; measuring, in some instances, more than one hundred feet in length, and weighing above a hundred thou- sand pounds ; but those of late years captured, have rarely exceeded two thirds of the above pro- portions. It principally inhabits the seas approaching the Poles, but occasionally is to be seen in milder 410 ON THE latitudes, and sometimes is even stranded upon the shores of this country. It is distinguished from all the other tribes, by having no teeth; but as a substitute, the upper jaw is lined with a thick, horny substance, (the whalebone of the shops) the numerous lamince of which, are so ar- ranged, as to prevent the food, when received into the mouth, from being passed out again ; and as the oesophagus, or Gullet, is only a few inches in diameter, the smallest substances, as s^a blub- ber, and other sea insects, or at most very dimi- nutive fish, can only be swallowed ; and upon such apparently scanty diet is this immense ani- mal exclusively fed. And yet, no animal exists, whose blood vessels are so full or so capacious in proportion, as the Common Whale. The aorta, or chief artery, Dr. Paley states, is larger in the bore than the main pipe of the late Waterworks at London Bridge ; and the water roaring in its passage through that pipe, is inferior in its impe- tus and velocity to the blood gushing from the section of a Whale. Dr. Hunter, upon dissecting one of these ani- mals, ascertained, that the aorta measured a foot in diameter; and he mentions, that through this tube, fifteen gallons of blood were thrown out of the heart at each stroke ; which, allowing only twenty pulsations in a minute, would cause eight thousand hogsheads of blood to pass through the heart in twenty-four hours ; a cir- MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 411 cumstance, which admitting its comparative mag- nitude to other animals, appears still to be almost incredible Ev r ery other part of this Whale is upon the same magnificent scale. For the heart is so large, as scarcely to be contained in a deep wide tub. The vertebrae, or joints of the back bone, present the diameter of moderately sized barrels. The ribs and jaw bones are often used to form lofty arched gate ways. The tail, (which contrary to the com- mon fish, lies horizontal,) is more than twenty feet broad, and so powerful as to be able to shat- ter a large canoe to pieces *ith one single stroke. The cleft of the mouth is from ten to twenty feet in length; while the tongue, is in itself capable of furnishing several hogsheads of blubber; and as the head forms nearly one third of the animal's bulk, and furnishes, in propor- tion, the largest quantity of oil; this, with the whalebone, supplied (as before stated ) from the upper jaw, renders it equally valuable with the still greater bulk of the body, though thickly covered with blubber; a provision of nature apparently for the purpose of preserving the internal viscera from the action of the cooler temperature of the sea, (the Whale having no hair like the land quadruped, or scales like most other fish, as an external covering,) and of giving buoyancy in the water to a body of such immense bulk. 412 ON THE Thus the common Whale, taken in all its parts, from the quantity of Whalebone and Oil which it furnishes, forms in successful voyages, one of the most profitable sources of commerce, which modern times have discovered. It is worthy of observation, that ihe two largest animals in existence, the Whale, and the Klephant, should only be formidable, when called upon to defend themselves against their enemies ; and that in general, they timidly fly from their pursu- ers, until urged to resistance by the closeness of the attack. The Physeler, Cachalot, or Sperma Ceti Whale, though somewhat less than the common Whale, is also of a very large size; and is to be found not only in the North Polar latitudes, but also in the South Seas, and near the coasts of the Hrasils and of New South Wales. There are four species, but the Physeter Macrocephaius is the most con- siderable. This animal, contrary to the former, has an extensive range of conical teeth in the lower jaws, which lit into corresponding sockets, in the upper one; containing, as it is supposed by some, small, concealed teeth under the surface. It has also, different from the former, an enormous gullet, by which two circumstances, it is enabled to seize and swallow very large fish ; thus bestow- ing on it, a much more ferocious character than the common Whale. From its head is extracted, that very useful substance, so well known by the MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 418 name of Sperma Ceti; and from its intestines, an inodorous concrete, denominated, ambergris; while the tish generally, like the common Whale, furnishes the captors with a vast proportion of oil of a superior quality, which, with the sperma ceti and amlx'.rgris, in favourable seasons, most amply rewards the expence and risk incurred in enterprizes of this description.* Thus the animals contained in the order of Cete, (but more especially the two genera, we have just described,) are rendered doubly inter- esting ; first in a philosophical point of view, by the strong line of distinction which nature has drawn between them and all other fishes ; as evin- ced in the structure and functions of their inter- nal organs, and in the mode by which they pro- duce and give suck to their young, thus approx- imating them to land Mammiferous animals; while their external conformation, and the ele- ment in which they live, would seem to bestow on them the character of fishes. And secondly, in a commercial one, by the application of var- ious parts of their bodies to practical purposes ; * The animals belonging to the first and the last Genus, namely, the Narwhal, and the Dolphin tribes, though furnished with the same oily covering as the others, are too small to be objects of commercial consideration, and therefore are only accidentally destroyed ; excepting by the more un- civilized inhabitants of Northerly Countries, by whom they are occasionally used for domestic purposes. 414 ON THE &C. a branch of trade, which, properly directed, rare- ly fails to advance the country in which it is prac- tised, and to lead to individual wealth and dis- tinction. FINIS Printed by H. CapWn, Node-Hill, N.wport, Isle of Wight. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS DUE AS STAMPED BELOW SENT ON ILL MAR 1 9 1998 U. C. BERKELEY FORM NO. DD 19 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY BERKELEY, CA 94720