ing small objects, which constitutes it a hand, pro- | an animal covered with hair, and having four feet; perly so called. It is in man, whose fore-extremity is entirely free, and eapable of being employed in seizing, grasping, or holding, that this power reaches its limit of perfection. These different combinations, which determine rigorously the nature of the different mammalia, have given rise to their subdivision into the following orders : I. THE UNGUICULATED MAMMALIA. 1. BIMANA.—Man alone possesses hands solely at his fore-extremities, and at the same time is privileged in many other respects, so as to entitle him to the first place among the unguiculated animals; his lower extremities alone support his body in a vertical position. 2. QUADRUMANA.-The order next to man possesses hands at all the four extremities. 3. CARNASSIERS.—The third order has not the thumb free and opposable to the other anterior extremities. All the animals of the above orders possess three kinds of teeth, namely, molars, canines, and incisors. 4. RODENTIA. The fourth order differs but slightly in the structure of the fingers from the Carnassiers, but it wants the canine teeth, and the incisors are disposed in front for the peculiar kind of mastication, termed gnawing. 5. EDENTATA. Next follow those animals having the fingers very much confined, and deeply sunk into large nails, which are often very crooked. They also have the imperfection of wanting incisors. Some also want the canines, and others have no teeth at all. 6. MARSUPIALIA. This distribution of the unguiculated animals would have been perfect, and might form a chain of some regularity, if New Holland [and America] had not furnished us with a small collateral chain, composed of animals with pouches. All these genera resemble each other in the whole character of their organization, yet some of them correspond to the Carnassiers by the structure of their teeth, and the nature of their food; others agree with Rodentia in these particulars, and others again with the Edentata. II. THE UNGULATED MAMMALIA. The animals with hoofs are less numerous, and at the same time less various in their structure. 7. PACHYDERMATA, or Jumenta, comprise all the boofed animals which do not ruminate. The elephant, though included in this class, would properly form a class of itself, which is allied to the Rodentia by some remote analogies. 8. RUMINANTIA. The ruminating animals form a very well-marked order, from their cloven feet, their four stomachs, and the absence of true incisors in the upper jaw. III. THE SEA-BEASTS. 9. CETACEA. Finally, we arrive at the Mammalia altogether destitute of hinder extremities. From their partaking of the form of the fishes, and their aquatic life, we should be led to constitute them a separate class, did not the remainder of their economy resemble the Mammalia in every respect. These are the fishes with warm blood of the ancients [the sea-beasts of the present day], which unite the strength of the other Mammalia to the advantage of being sustained by the watery element. It is accordingly in this class that the most gigantic animals are found. In those superficial characters, which strike the observer most forcibly at first sight, the mammalia present many traits which are to be found equally in the other classes, a fact which is not sufficiently adverted to in ordinary discourse. Thus, by the term beast or quadruped, it is usual to understand and whenever a bird or a fish is referred to, the feathers of the former and the scales of the latter offer themselves readily to the imagination. Yet these external characters by no means serve to distinguish the class of vertebrated animals. The property of having four feet, which is possessed by a large and important portion of the mammalia, is not confined solely to them. Many oviparous animals belonging to the third class (Reptilia) possess the same characteristic; and in this respect the fourfooted beasts of the earth, which approach Man so nearly in their other characters, and occupy so high a place in the economy of Nature, are not superior to the lizards and frogs. Again, the armadilloes (Dasypus), instead of being covered with hair, are armed with a solid covering like the Tortoises, or even like the Crustacea. The animals of the genus manis are covered with scales not very different from those of the fishes, and the same structure is found in the tail of the beaver (Castor faber). The porcupines (Hystrix), and the hedgehogs (Erinaceus), are covered with a species of sharp quills, without feathery fibres on the extremity, but having the tube very like that of birds. The cetacea, or seabeasts, resemble the fishes so forcibly in their external forms, that the uninformed portion of mankind persist in calling them fishes in opposition to the universal decision of naturalists. The whale, dolphin, grampus, and other animals of this order, have nothing in common with the fish, except the circumstances of their living in the same element, in being destitute of hair, and in possessing that external form necessary for rapid motion in a fluid of considerable density. Yet the term whale-fishery will long preserve its usage among that numerous class of persons, who are apt to reject the critical observations of naturalists, from their apparent over-refinement. Nature appears to evade, by the variety of her combinations, those obvious divisions which a superficial examination would lead us to form; and the mammalia approach to the birds, the reptiles, the fishes, and even the crustacea in the character of their external covering. This variety in the superficial appearance establishes clearly the necessity of seeking, in their internal organization, for the principles of classification. It has often been stated, that while error lies on the surface, truth must be sought deeply in the hidden parts; and this assertion, which is only made metaphorically in reference to moral subjects, is literally true in Natural History. The birds share their quills with the hedgehogs and porcupines; and their long bills destitute of teeth, with their tongue, are imitated by the trunk and tongue of the ant-eaters (Myrmecophaga). The reptiles are not alone armed with a solid covering. The fishes share their scales with the beaver and manis, and their fins with the seals (Phoca), the morse (Trichechus), the manatus, and the true cetacea. The birds have their powers of flight assigned also to the bat; the crawling of the reptiles and eels is imitated in some degree by the slow movements of the sloth (Bradypus); and the fishes share their powers of swimming with most mammalia, but more especially with the tribe amphibia, and order cetacea. As the meanings of the terms beast, bird, fish, and quadruped, are established by popular usage alone, they are necessarily destitute of that precision which should characterize the language of science. The term mammalia, which has been generally adopted by Naturalists, is much more wide in its signification than that of quadruped; it agrees more nearly with the word beast than perhaps any other term, although not exactly, as the latter term excludes man, and the cetacea are not always understood by the vulgar to be really sea-beasts. The term quadruped is still more improperly considered as synonymous with | ference between animals in a state of nature and mammalia, with which, however, it is often con- domestic tameness, is so considerable, that Mr. founded. In the last-mentioned class man is included Buffon has taken this as a principal distinction in classing them. manous. as well as the cetacea, although he is a biped, and they are altogether destitute of hinder limbs. The ape tribes possessed of four hands are properly quadruEven of those animals which are, strictly speaking, quadrupeds, from their walking habitually on four feet, many either frequent the water or are capable of supporting themselves in the air. The seals and other amphibia, although mammalia, cannot properly be styled quadrupeds, and the same observation applies to the bats. The true quadrupeds live exclusively on the land; they may be said to divide it with man, whose nature they approach more nearly than that of the birds, reptiles, or fishes. Man is the only biped and bimanous animal, because he alone possesses two feet and two hands. CHAP. XV. OF QUADRUPEDS IN GENERAL, COMPARED TO MAN. UPON comparing the various animals of the globe with each other, we shall find that quadrupeds demand the rank immediately next ourselves; and, consequently, come first in consideration. The similitude between the structure of their bodies and ours, those instincts which they enjoy in a superior degree to the rest, their constant services, or their unceasing hostilities, all render them the foremost objects of our curiosity, the most interesting parts of animated nature. These, however, although now so completely subdued, very probably, in the beginning, were nearer upon an equality with us, and disputed the possession of the earth. Man, while yet savage himself, was but ill qualified to civilize the forest. While yet naked, unarmed, and without shelter, every wild beast was a formidable rival; and the destruction of such was the first employment of heroes. But when he began to multiply, and the arts to accumulate, he soon cleared the plains of the most noxious of these his rivals; a part was taken under his protection and care, while the rest found a precarious refuge in the burning desert or the howling wilderness. From being rivals, quadrupeds have now become the assistants of man; upon them he devolves the most laborious employments, and finds in them patient and humble coadjutors, ready to obey, and content with the smallest retribution. It was not, however, without long and repeated efforts that the independent spirit of these animals was broken; for the savage freedom, in wild animals, is generally found to pass down through several generations before it is totally subdued. Those cats and dogs that are taken from a state of natural wildness in the forest, still transmit their fierceness to their young; and, however concealed in general, it breaks out upon several occasions. Thus the assiduity and application of man in bringing them up, not only alters their disposition, but their very forms; and the dif In taking a cursory view of the form of quadrupeds, we may easily perceive, that of all the ranks of animated nature, they bear the nearest resemblance to man. This similitude will be found more striking when, erecting themselves on their hinder feet, they are taught to walk forward in an upright posture. We then see that all their extremities in a manner correspond with ours, and present us with a rude imitation of our own. In some of the ape kind the resemblance is so striking, that anatomists are puzzled to find in what part of the human body man's superiority consists; and scarcely any but the metaphysician can draw the line that divides them. But if we compare their internal structure with our own, the likeness will be found still to increase, and we shall perceive many advantages they enjoy in common with us, above the lower tribes of nature. Like us, they are placed above the class of birds, by bringing forth their young alive; like us, they are placed above the class of fishes, by breathing through the lungs; like us, they are placed above the class of insects, by having red blood circulating through their veins; and, lastly, like us, they are different from almost all the other classes of animated nature, being either wholly or partly covered with hair. Thus nearly are we represented, in point of conformation, to the class of animals immediately below us; and this shows what little reason we have to be proud of our persons alone, to the perfection of which quadrupeds make such very near approaches. The similitude of quadrupeds to man obtains also in the fixedness of their nature, and their being less apt to be changed by the influence of climate or food, than the lower ranks of nature.1 Birds are found very apt to alter both in colour and size; fishes likewise still more; insects may be quickly brought to change and adapt themselves to the climate; and if we descend to plants, which may be allowed to have a kind of living existence, their kinds may be surprisingly and readily altered, and taught to assume new forms. figure of every animal may be considered as a kind of drapery, which it may be made to put on or off by human assiduity: in man, the drapery is almost invariable; in quadrupeds, it admits of some variation; and the variety may be made greater still, as we descend to the inferior classes of animal existence. The Quadrupeds, although they are thus strongly marked, and in general divided from the various kinds around them, yet some of them are often of so equivocal a nature, that it is hard to tell whether they ought to be ranked in the quadru 1 Buffon. ped class, or degraded to those below them. If, for instance, we were to marshal the whole groupe of animals round man, placing the most perfect next him, and those most equivocal near the classes they most approach, we should find it difficult, after the principal had taken their stations near him, where to place many that lie at the outskirts of this phalanx. The bat makes a near approach to the aerial tribe, and might, by some, be reckoned among the birds. The porcupine has not less pretensions to that class, being covered with quills, and showing that birds are not the only part of nature that are furnished with such a defence. The armadillo might be referred to the tribe of insects or snails, being like them covered with a shell; the seal and the morse might be ranked among the fishes, like them being furnished with fins and almost constantly residing in the same element. All these, the farther they recede from the human figure, become less perfect, and may be considered as the lowest kinds of that class to which we have referred them. But although the variety in quadrupeds is thus great, they all seem well adapted to the stations in which they are placed. There is scarcely one of them, how rudely shaped soever, that is not formed to enjoy a state of happiness fitted to its nature. All its deformities are only relative to us, but all its enjoyments are peculiarly its own. We may superficially suppose the sloth, that takes up months in climbing a single tree, or the mole, whose eyes are too small for distinct vision, are wretched and helpless crea tures: but it is probable that their life, with respect to themselves, is a life of luxury; the most pleasing food is easily obtained; and as they are abridged in one pleasure, it may be doubled in those which remain. Quadrupeds, and all the lower kinds of animals, have, at worst, but the torments of immediate evil to encounter, and this is but transient and accidental: man has two sources of calamity, that which he foresees, as well as that which he feels; so that if his reward were to be in this life alone, then, indeed, would he be of all beings most wretched. The heads of quadrupeds, though differing from each other, are, in general, adapted to their way of living. In some it is sharp, the better to fit the animal for turning up the earth in which its food lies. In some it is long, in order to give a greater room for the olfactory nerves, as in dogs, who are to hunt and find out their prey by the scent. In others, it is short and thick, as in the lion, to increase the strength of the jaw, and to fit it the better for combat. In quadrupeds that feed upon grass, they are enabled to hold down their head to the ground, by a strong tendinous ligament, that runs from the head to the middle of the back. This serves to raise the head, although it has been held to the ground for several hours, without any labour or any assistance from the muscles of the neck. The teeth of all animals are entirely fitted to the nature of their food. Those of such as live 2" In a state of nature no race of animals is unhappy; they are all adapted to the mode of life which God upon flesh differ in every respect from such as has ordained them to lead; and their chief enjoy-live upon vegetables. In the latter, they seem ment consists in pursuing their natural habits, what- entirely made for gathering and bruising their ever these may be. The woodpecker, while boring simple food, being edged before, and fitted for a tree, and clinging to it for hours by its scandent cutting; but broad towards the back of the jaw, feet, is just as happy as the eagle is when perched and fitted for pounding. In the carnivorous upon the mountain-cliff, or pouncing on its quarry from the clouds. Neither could lead the life of the kinds, they are sharp before, and fitted rather other, but each is happy in the state which has been for holding than dividing. In the one, the teeth assigned to it; and this is observable throughout all serve as grindstones; in the other, as weapons or nature. A rat, which burrows in a ditch, is as happy defence: in both, however, the surface of those as it could desire, so long as it can find garbage sufficient to feed on; and a heron, immoveably fixed watch teeth which serve for grinding are unequal: the ing for the approach of small fishes and frogs, has, there cavities and risings fitting those of the opposite, can be little doubt, as much pleasure as any lover of so as to tally exactly when the jaws are brought the angle can enjoy while wearing out the summer day in marking his light float, and waiting, in mute could form no source of felicity to another, but the expectation, the wished-for bite. We generally, I very reverse. Though activity may stimulate the believe, connect rapidity or slowness of motion with appearance of superior enjoyment, we may conceive, the ideas we form of an animal's happiness. If, like that where it is excessive, the animal in which it is the tortoise, it move with slow and measured steps, so demonstrated must suffer much from fatigue. This we pity or despise, as the mood may be, its melan- would be another mistake, in so far as relates to anicholy, sluggish condition; and the poor persecuted mals in a state of nature. The works of God are all toad has, probably, incurred as much of the odium so perfect in their kind; but if an animal were formed to unjustly attached to it, by its inactivity, as by the lead a life of almost perpetual motion, and that mosupposed loathsomeness of its appearance. On the tion were accompanied or followed by fatigue, the other hand, enjoyment seems always to be the con- work would be imperfect: take the swallow as an comitant of celerity of motion. A fly, dancing in the example; it is constantly on the wing except at air, seems more happy than the spider lurking in his night. From the early morning to the downgoing of den; and the lark, singing at heaven's gate,' to the sun, it is for ever dashing through the air with possess a more joyous existence than the snail, which the rapidity of an arrow, but neither morning nor creeps almost imperceptibly upon a leaf, or the mole evening does it ever show one symptom of weariness; which passes the hours of brightness and sunshine in it has a wing which never tires; and at night it behis dark caverns underground. But these and all takes itself to repose, not worn out by the fatigues other animals are happy, each in its own way; and of the day, but prepared for sleep after what is to it the habits of one, constituted as the creatures are, a wholesome exercise."-Anon. together. These inequalities better serve for comminuting the food; but they become smooth with age; and, for this reason, old animals take a longer time to chew their food than such as are in the vigour of life. mals, that live precariously, it is much more contracted, and the intestines are much shorter. In this manner all animals are fitted by nature to fill up some peculiar station. The greatest animals are made for an inoffensive life, to range the plains and the forest without injuring others; to live upon the productions of the earth, the grass of the field, or the tender branches of trees. These, secure in their own strength, neither fly from any other quadrupeds, nor yet attack them: Nature to the greatest strength has added the most gentle and harmless dispositions; without this those enormous creatures would be more than a match for all the rest of the creation ; for what devastation might not ensue, were the elephant, or the rhinoceros, or the buffalo, as fierce and as mischievous as the tiger or the rat? In order to oppose these larger animals, and in some measure to prevent their exuberance, there is a species of the carnivorous kind, of inferior strength indeed, but of greater activity and cunning. The lion and the tiger generally watch for the larger kinds of prey, attack them at some disadvantage, and commonly jump upon them by surprise. None of the carnivorous kinds, except the dog alone, will make a voluntary attack, but with the odds on their side. They are all cowards by nature, and usually catch their prey by a bound from some lurking-place, seldom attempting to invade them openly; for the larger beasts are too powerful for them, and the smaller too swift. Their legs are not better fitted than their teeth to their respective wants or enjoyments. In some they are made for strength only, and to support a vast unwieldy frame, without much flexibility or beautiful proportion. Thus, the legs of the elephant, the rhinoceros, and the sea-horse, resemble pillars were they made smaller, they would be unfit to support the body; were they endowed with greater flexibility, or swiftness, that would be needless, as they do not pursue other animals for food; and conscious of their own superior strength, there are none that they deign to avoid. Deer, hares, and other creatures, that are to find safety only in flight, have their legs made entirely for speed; they are slender and nervous. Were it not for this advantage every carnivorous animal would soon make them a prey, and their races would be entirely extinguished. But, in the present state of nature, the means of safety are rather superior to those of offence; and the pursuing animal must owe success only to patience, perseverance, and industry. The feet of some that live upon fish alone, are made for swimming. The toes of these animals are joined together with membranes, being web-footed like a goose or a duck, by which they swim with great rapidity. Those animals that lead a life of hostility, and live upon others, have their feet A lion does not willingly attack a horse, and armed with sharp claws, which some can sheathe, then only when compelled by the keenest hunand unsheathe, at will. Those, on the contrary, ger. The combats between a lion and a horse who lead peaceful lives, have generally hoofs, are frequent enough in Italy; where they are which serve some as weapons of defence; and both enclosed in a kind of amphitheatre, fitted which in all are better fitted for traversing ex- for that purpose. The lion always approaches tensive tracts of rugged country, than the claw-wheeling about, while the horse presents his hinfoot of their pursuers. The stomach is generally proportioned to the quality of the animal's food, or the ease with which it is obtained. In those that live upon flesh, and such nourishing substances, it is small and glandular, affording such juices as are best adapted to digest its contents; their intestines also are short, and without fatness. On the contrary, such animals as feed entirely upon vegetables have the stomach very large; and those who chew the cud have no less than four stomachs, all which serve as so many laboratories, to prepare and turn their coarse food into proper nourishment. In Africa, where the plants afford greater nourishment than in our temperate climates, several animals, that with us have four stomachs, have there but two. However, in all animals the size of the intestines is proportioned to the nature of the food: where that is furnished in large quantities the stomach dilates to answer the increase. In domestic animals, that are plentifully supplied, it is large; in the wild ani 3 Buffon. der parts to the enemy. The lion in this manner goes round and round, still narrowing his circle, till he comes to the proper distance to make his spring; just at the time the lion springs, the horse lashes with both legs from behind, and, in general, the odds are in his favour; it more often happening that the lion is stunned, and struck motionless by the blow, than that he effects his jump between the horse's shoulders. If the lion is stunned, and left sprawling, the horse escapes, without attempting to improve his victory; but if the lion succeeds, he sticks to his prey, and tears the horse in pieces in a very short time. But it is not among the larger animals of the forest alone, that these hostilities are carried on; there is a minuter, and a still more treacherous contest, between the lower ranks of quadrupeds. The panther hunts for the sheep and the goat; the catamountain for the hare or the rabbit; and the wild cat for the squirrel or the mouse. proportion as each carnivorous animal wants strength, it uses all the assistance of patience, assiduity, and cunning. However, the arts of these to pursue, are not so great as the tricks of In their prey to escape; so that the power of destruction in one class is inferior to the power of safety in the other. Were this otherwise, the forest would soon be dispeopled of the feebler races of animals; and beasts of prey themselves would want, at one time, that subsistence which they lavishly destroyed at another. down the animal, come in and monopolize the spoil. This has given rise to the report of the jackal's being the lion's provider; when the reality is, that the jackal hunts for itself, and the lion is an unwelcome intruder upon the fruits of his toil. Nevertheless, with all the powers which carnivorous animals are possessed of, they generally lead a life of famine and fatigue. Their prey has such a variety of methods for escaping, that they sometimes continue without food for a fortnight together: but nature has endowed them with a degree of patience equal to the severity of their state; so that as their subsistence is precarious, their appetites are complying. They usually seize their prey with a roar, either of seeming delight, or perhaps to terrify it from resistance. They frequently devour it, bones and all, in the most ravenous manner; and then retire to their dens, continuing inactive, till the calls of hunger again excite their courage and industry. But as all their methods of pursuit are counteracted by the arts of evasion, they often continue to range Few wild animals seek their prey in the daytime; they are then generally deterred by their fears of man in the inhabited countries, and by the excessive heat of the sun in those extensive forests that lie toward the south, and in which they reign the undisputed tyrants. As soon as the morning, therefore, appears, the carnivorous animals retire to their dens; and the elephant, the horse, the deer, and all the hare kinds, those inoffensive tenants of the plain, make their appearance. But again, at night-fall, the state of hostility begins; the whole forest then echoes to a variety of different howlings. Nothing can be more terrible than an African landscape at the close of evening: the deep-toned roarings of the lion; the shriller yellings of the tiger; the jack-without success, supporting a state of famine for al, pursuing by the scent, and barking like a dog; the hyena, with a note peculiarly solitary and dreadful; but, above all, the hissing of the various kinds of serpents, that then begin their call, and, as I am assured, make a much louder symphony than the birds in our groves in a morning. Beasts of prey seldom devour each other; nor can anything but the greatest degree of hunger induce them to it. What they chiefly seek after is the deer or the goat; those harmless creatures, that seem made to embellish nature. These are either pursued or surprised, and afford the most agreeable repast to their destroyers. The most usual method with even the fiercest animals, is to hide and crouch near some path frequented by their prey; or some water where cattle come to drink; and seize them at once with a bound. The lion and the tiger leap twenty feet at a spring; and this, rather than their swiftness or their strength, is what they have most to depend upon for a supply. There is scarcely one of the deer or hare kind that is not very easily capable of escaping them by its swiftness; so that whenever any of these fall a prey, it must be owing to their own inattention. But there is another class of the carnivorous kind, that hunt by the scent, and which it is much more difficult to escape. It is remarkable, that all animals of this kind pursue in a pack; and encourage each other by their mutual cries. The jackal, the syagush, the wolf, and the dog, are of this kind; they pursue with patience rather than swiftness; their prey flies at first, and leaves them for miles behind; but they keep on with a constant steady pace, and excite each other by a general spirit of industry and emulation, till at last they share the common plunder. But it too often happens, that the larger beasts of prey, when they hear a cry of this kind begin, pursue the pack, and when they have hunted several days, nay, sometimes, weeks together. Of their prey, some find protection in holes, in which nature has directed them to bury themselves; some find safety by swiftness; and such as are possessed of neither of these advantages, generally herd together, and endeavour to repel invasion by united force. The very sheep, which to us seem so defenceless, are by no means so in a state of nature; they are furnished with arms of defence, and a very great degree of swiftness; but they are still further assisted by their spirit of mutual defence: the females fall into the centre; and the males, forming a ring round them, oppose their horns to the assailants. Some animals, that feed upon fruits which are to be found only at one time of the year, fill their holes with several sorts of plants, which enable them to lie concealed during the hard frosts of the winter, contented with their prison, since it affords them plenty and protection. These holes are dug with so much art, that there seems the design of an architect in the formation. There are usually two apertures, by one of which the little inhabitant can always escape, when the enemy is in possession of the other. Many creatures are equally careful of avoiding their enemies, by placing a sentinel to warn them of the approach of danger. These generally perform this duty by turns; and they know how to punish such as have neglected their post, or have been unmindful of the common safety. Such are a part of the efforts that the weaker races of quadrupeds exert to avoid their invaders; and, in general, they are attended with success, The arts of instinct are most commonly found an overmatch for the invasions of instinct. Man is the only creature against whom all their little tricks cannot prevail. Wherever he has spread his dominions, scarcely any flight can save, or any retreat harbour; wherever he comes, terror seems to follow, and all so |