they have little power of flight, and seek their food on the ground. Many do not even perch on trees. They derive their name Rasores from their habit of scraping the ground in search of worms and insects, a habit which is scarcely found in any other birds. To this order belong the common fowl, the turkey, pheasant, quail, partridge, grouse, &c. Pigeons are also generally ranked in it.-The order Cursores is a very peculiar one, distinguished by the shortness of the wings, which are not adapted for flight, and by long and strong legs, suited for rapid running on the ground. The species of this order are few; but all are birds of large size. The ostrich, cassowary, and emu belong to it.-The Gralla or Grallatores,2 are birds with long shanks and long toes, adapted for wading or for walking on sand or mud. The whole figure is generally slender; the neck often long. Many birds of this order have also long bills. Some of them feed on vegetables; others on insects, molluscs, small fish, &c. Most of them inhabit marshy places or the banks of rivers and the sea-shore. Some seek their food by inserting their long bills into mud. Herons, cranes, storks, bitterns, snipes, and woodcocks are examples of this order.-The order Natatores3 is characterised by webbed feet, that is, by having the toes connected by a membrane, so as to be especially adapted for swimming. The bill varies very much in form, according to the habits and food of different kinds. Some, as penguins, have very short wings; others are long-winged birds of very powerful flight, as albatrosses, petrels, and other oceanic birds. Swans, geese, and ducks belong to this order; also gulls, terns, and sea-fowl in general. Mammalia.-Mammalia or Mammals are the highest class of animals. In them the brain assumes its most perfect form, and the highest degrees of intelligence are displayed, although in these respects there is much diversity in the different groups, the greatest perfection being reached in man, who, considered with regard to his mere animal nature, must be ranked in this class. The name refers to a characteristic of the class altogether peculiar to it, that the females suckle their young. All the Mammalia are viviparous, although the young are produced in very different stages of development. The skin of the greater number of mammals is covered with hair, a kind of covering peculiar to this class of animals. The limbs of some species are adapted merely for locomotion and for the support of the body; those of others are also organs of prehension. Marine species have them modified into paddles; and in the Cetacea (whales, &c.) the fore-limbs are represented by fins, whilst the hinder limbs are altogether wanting. The class Mammalia is divided into three principal sections, according 1 Latin, 'runners,' from curro, cursum, to run. 2 Latin, 'stilt-walkers,' from grallæ, stilts. 3 Latin, 'swimmers,' from nato, natatum, to swim. 4 From Latin mamma, a teat. to the character of the limbs and of their extremities-Unguiculata,1 mammals having nails or claws; Ungulata,2 mammals having hoofs; and Mutilata, mammals having no hind-limbs, and the fore-limbs modified into fins. To the first of these sections, Unguiculata, man is referred ; and for the single species so high in intelligence and endowments, so different from all other animals, the order Bimana1 has been constituted, the name expressing the peculiar character of the adaptation of the extremities of the fore-limbs to the purposes of grasping, &c., as hands; whilst those of the hind limbs are merely feet, serving for the support of the body; this very difference between the fore and hinder extremities shewing that man is intended for an upright posture. In this respect, he is altogether peculiar, as all the lower mammals inhabiting the dry land ordinarily go upon all-fours, although this is somewhat disguised in monkeys by their climbing powers. Monkeys belong to an order called Quadrumana, the extremities of all the four limbs being fitted for use as hands, by having thumbs opposed in action to the fingers, and the hind-limbs having often the greatest grasping power.-Cuvier's order, Carnaria, so designated because consisting of species which chiefly subsist by preying upon other animals, is divided into three sub-ordersCheiroptera, Insectivora, and Carnivora. (1) Cheiroptera,7 or Bats, are the only winged mammals. The wings of bats are very different in structure from those of birds, and consist chiefly of the bones of the fore-limbs, and particularly the finger-bones, prodigiously lengthened and united by membrane. Most of the bats feed chiefly on insects, although some large tropical species eat fruits.—(2) The Insectivora, as moles, shrews, and hedgehogs, are mostly small timid creatures. They do not all prey exclusively on insects, although all have their molar teeth beset with small tubercles for breaking up the hard coverings of insect prey.-(3) The sub-order Carnivora includes the quadrupeds which chiefly prey upon other vertebrate animals. Their 'muscular energy is very great, their respiration and circulation very active. Their use in the scheme of nature seems to be to prevent the undue multiplication of herbivorous animals, which, unless thus checked, would soon destroy the vegetation of the earth, and unfit it for their own abode. Cuvier divided the Carnivora into three sections. The first section, named Plantigrade,10 contains those which place the whole sole of the foot on the ground in walking, of which the families of Bears and Badgers are the most notable. The second section, Digitigrade,11 contains those which walk on the tips of the toes only, of which the chief families are the Felida,1 including all the cat kind, the lion, tiger, leopard, lynx, &c. ; the Canida, of which dogs, foxes, and jackals are examples; Hyænidæ, to which the hyæna belongs; Viverridæ,3 of which the civet is the best known example; and Mustelidæ, the weasel tribe, including the ermine, marten, ferret, polecat, otter, &c. The most fierce and exclusively carnivorous quadrupeds belong to the orders Felida, Viverridæ, and Mustelidæ. The third section of the Carnivora in Cuvier's system is called Amphibia, and consists of seals, sea-elephants, the walrus, and similar animals, all marine, and having their feet adapted mainly for swimming, their teeth and digestive system for preying upon fish. The sea-elephant is more than twice the size of the largest African or Indian elephant.—The order Marsupialia is distinguished by the pouch in which the females carry their young, the young being produced at an earlier stage than in other mammals. It is a curious fact that almost all the quadrupeds of Australia belong to this order, whereas elsewhere almost the only marsupial animals in the world are the opossums of America. Opossums and kangaroos are the kinds of which the names are most familiar to us, but there are many others, some of which are herbivorous and some carnivorous. The Marsupialia seem to be generally inferior to other mammals in intelligence.-The order Rodentia consists of quadrupeds which have the front teeth-two in each jaw-large and of a peculiar structure, chisel-like, so as specially to adapt them for gnawing. Hares, rabbits, rats, mice, squirrels, and beavers are familiar examples of this order, the species of which are very numerous, and all of them small animals. The order Edentata is composed of animals, some of which are absolutely destitute of teeth, whilst others have small teeth only in the back part of their jaws. To this order belong sloths, armadillos, and ant-eaters, animals of very various habits, and differing in the nature of their food, yet exhibiting a general similarity of structure. The Ungulata or hoofed quadrupeds are divided into two orders, Pachydermata and Ruminantia. The first of these orders contains elephants, tapirs, rhinoceroses, the hippopotamus, hogs, &c., all characterised by remarkable thickness of skin, and all feeding on vegetable food, although in other characters there is great diversity. To this order belong the largest of land animals. A section of the order very distinct from the rest, characterised by undivided hoofs, contains the horse tribe, the horse, ass, zebra, &c. The Ruminantia are the only animals in which the habit of chewing the cud is found. All of them are 1 From Latin felis, a cat. 2 From Latin canis, a dog. 3 From Latin viverra, a ferret. 4 From Latin mustela, a polecat. 5 From Latin marsupium, a pouch. 6 Latin, 'gnawers,' from rodo, to gnaw. 7 Latin, toothless,' from e, without, and dens, dentis, a tooth. 8 From Greek pachys, thick, and derma, skin. 9 Latin, chewing the cud,' from rumino, to chew again. strictly herbivorous. To this order belong the families Camelidæ, containing the camel and dromedary of the old world, and the lama, alpaca, &c., of the new; Camelopardida, containing the camelopard or giraffe alone; Cervidæ,1 containing the numerous species of deer; Antilopidæ, containing the numerous species of antelope; Bovida, containing oxen, buffaloes, bisons, &c.; and Caprida,3 containing sheep and goats. It will be seen that many of the animals most useful to man belong to this important order. The Cetacea all inhabit the ocean, and have a fishlike form, but, unlike fishes, the tail is placed horizontally, so that they have great facility in diving and in ascending to the surface of the water, which they are under the necessity of doing very often, in order to breathe. They are as careful of their young as any land mammals. The largest whales sometimes attain a length of seventy or eighty feet, yet the food of these great animals consists entirely of molluscs and other small marine creatures, taken into the mouth along with floods of water, which soon afterwards escapes, the food having been sifted from it by the plates and fibres of whalebone, with which the great cavity of the mouth is filled. Other Cetacea, however, have no whalebone, but are furnished with teeth, and prey on fishes, of which we have an example in the porpoise of the British coasts. Two or three species of Cetacea differ entirely from the rest, in being herbivorous and having teeth like those of ordinary herbivorous quadrupeds. Such are the Dugong of the Eastern Archipelago, and the Manatee or Lamantine of the West Indies. Their food consists partly of sea-weeds and partly of the luxuriant herbage on the banks of tropical estuaries, on which they browse when the tide enables them to reach it. We have not attempted to point out the many and various uses of the Mammalia; nor have we been able, in almost a single instance, to allude to the beauty or peculiarity of their forms, to their habits, their intelligence, their affections, their capacity for domestication, and the like. It is a wide field which opens out before the student, who will everywhere see more and more to call forth his admiration of the Creator's wisdom and goodness. 1 Latin cervus, a deer. 2 From Latin bos, bovis, an ox. 4 From Latin cete, a whale. 5 See bottom of page 106. TABLE OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. * This table does not contain a complete classification of animals, but only the great "Divisions and the principal Classes and Orders, as given in the preceding pages. DIVISION I-PROTOZOA. Animals of the most simple organisation, having no nervous system, and, with the exception of one group, no mouth or intestinal canal. CLASSES.-Rhizopoda Sponges-Infusoria. DIVISION IL-CŒLENTERATA. Animals with soft bodies composed of two layers, the digestive cavity being surrounded by tentacles. DIVISION III-RADIATA. Radiated or Rayed animals, as star-fishes. DIVISION IV.-ARTICULATA. Articulated or Jointed animals. CLASS I-Annelidæ, as earthworms, leeches. " " ORDER 1. Coleoptera, insects having wing-cases, as the beetle, glow worm, firefly. 2. Orthoptera, insects having soft wing-covers folded like a fan, as the locust, grasshopper, cricket. 3. Neuroptera, insects having four wings divided into a network, as the dragon-fly, may-fly, white ant. 4. Hymenoptera, insects having membranous wings, and many of them stings, as the ant, bee. 5. Lepidoptera, insects which have the wings covered with scales, and undergo a complete metamorphosis, as butterflies, moths. 6. Diptera, two-winged insects, as flies, midges, gnats. DIVISION V.-MOLLUSCA. Soft-bodied animals, as snails, whelks, limpets, oysters, mussels, cuttle-fish, squids. DIVISION VI.-VERTEBRATA. Animals having an internal skeleton with backbone and skull. CLASS I.-Fishes, cold-blooded animals, as the herring, cod, salmon, shark. 2. Cartilaginous Fishes, as the shark, skate, sturgeon. III.-Reptiles, cold-blooded animals, breathing by lungs at all periods of life. "1 2. Saurians, as lizards, crocodiles. 3. Chelonians, as tortoises, turtles. IV.-Birds, warm-blooded animals, oviparous, and covered with feathers, the ORDER 1. Accipitres, Rapaces, or Raptores, birds of prey. |