we call it. The attention of the American government was excited by the general distress; a minute examination into the cause of the mortality ensued ; and it was satisfactorily shewn that the honey had been chiefly extracted from the flowers of the kalmia latifolia, and that the pheasants which had proved thus. poisonous, had fed harmlessly on its leaves. The consequence was, that a public proclamation was issued, prohibiting the use of the pheasant as a food. for that season.*

Dampier, in his travels, tells us, that when seamen are thrown upon any of the unknown coasts of America, they never venture upon the fruit of any tree, how tempting soever it may appear, unless they observe that it is marked with the pecking of birds; but fall on without any fear or apprehension where the birds. have been before them.t

But as what nourishes birds may be injurious to man, this cannot always be a safe guide.

The following passage from St. Pierre conveys an interesting illustration of the same subject in his own animated style, and concludes with a simple and happy allusion to the varied working of that power, which is ever performing its wonders in the creation..

"The sluggish cow pastures in the cavity of the valley; the bounding sheep on the declivity of the hill; the scrambling goat browses among the shrubs of the rock; the duck feeds on the water plants of the. river; the hen, with attentive eye, picks up every * Oration by Dr. Mason Good, P. 24. + Spectator, vol. ii.

grain that is lost in the field: the pigeon, on rapid wing, collects a similar tribute from the refuse of the grove; and the frugal bee turns to account even the small dust on the flower; there is no part of the earth where the whole vegetable crop may not be reaped. Those plants which are rejected by one, are a delicacy to another; and even among the finny tribes contribute to their fatness. The hog devours the horse-tail and henbane; the goat the thistle and the hemlock. All return in the evening to the habitation of man, with murmurs, with bleatings, with cries of joy, bringing back to him the delicious tribute of innumerable plants, transformed by a process the most inconceivable, into honey, milk, butter, eggs, and

cream."

SECT. III.

Of the adaptation of Structure to Climate, &c.

The nice adaptation of their instincts to the situation in which different animals are placed, is itself a sign of superior wisdom and power, operating in them for their well-being.

Thus the animals of the torrid zone, as the monkey, the elephant, and the rhinoceros, feed upon vegetables that grow in hot countries, and therefore in these they have their allotted bounds. The rein-deer is fixed in the coldest part of Lapland, because its

chief food is the lichen, or moss, which grows there more abundantly than in any other country.

The camel frequents the sandy and burning deserts in order to feed on the dry camel's hay: and here in reference to this animal, we may exclaim-how wonderfully has the Creator contrived for him! He is confined to the deserts, where oftentimes no water is to be found for many days. All other animals would perish with thirst, while the camel feels no inconve nience; being furnished with numerous cells in his stomach where he keeps water, as in a reservoir, fresh and perfectly good for a long time together; it is said even 10 or 12 days. The Arabians consider the camel as a gift sent from heaven, a sacred animal, without whose assistance they could neither subsist, nor travel. The milk of the camel is their common food. They also eat its flesh; and of its hair they make garments. Where shall we find his equal but in the reindeer of the north? The inhabitants of Lapland have little dependence on the fruits of the earth. They neither sow nor reap. Their comparative riches consist in the number of rein-deer. Their chief nourishment is derived from the flesh and milk of these animals; with the milk also they make cheese; the skin serves for clothing; the hair for fur; the horns and hoofs for glue; the sinews are split into thread which is very strong bow-strings are made of the tendons; and the bones are manufactured into spoons.

Another instance of the beneficent care of the Creator may be noticed in the broad palmated horns,

:

or brow-antlers, bending forwards, with which the face of the rein-deer is nearly covered: for, it has been suggested, that were it not for this structure of the horns the poor animal would perish in the midst of plenty as it is thus enabled to get at a sufficient quantity of its favourite moss, which lies buried ḍuring the winter at the bottom of the snow; and we can thus account for a circumstance that would otherwise appear singular: namely, that contrary to the nature of all other deer, the female is furnished with horns as well as the male.*

Lawrence observes, that there are instances, in which whole tribes of human beings depend for the supply of all their wants, on one or two species of animals. "The Greenlander, and the Esquimaux of Labrador, placed in a region of almost constant snow and ice, where intense cold renders the soil incapable of producing any articles of human sustenance, are fed, clothed, and lodged from the seal. The flesh and blood of the seal are their food; the blubber, or sub-cutaneous stratum of fat, affords them the means of procuring light and heat; the bones and teeth are converted into weapons, instruments, and various ornaments; the skin not only supplies them with clothing, but with the coverings of their huts and canoes. The stomach, intestines, and bladder, when dried, are turned to many and various uses in their nearly transparent dry state they supply the place of glass in the windows; they form bladders for their

*See Smellie, Linnæus, Church, &c.

harpoons, arrows, nets, &c.; when sewed together they make under garments, curtains, &c.; and are employed in place of linen on many occasions. Thus every part of the animal is converted, by a kind of domestic anatomy, to useful purposes, even to the tendons, which, when split and dried, form excellent threads. The Tschutski, the north-west Americans, the Aleutians, and other neighbouring islanders, as well as the Greenlanders, surprise us by manufacturing thread from the carcase of the whale; splitting the fibres of its cutaneous muscle into lengths of a hundred feet or more; and preparing from it a doublethreaded twine, which, in the united requisites of fineness and strength, will bear comparison with any productions of European industry.*

An instance of very wonderful adaptation in the physical economy of two insects of different species is recorded in the history of the ant.

It is well known that many insects become torpid in extreme cold; and that in this state they require no food. Ants present a remarkable exception to this rule for they are not benumbed till the thermometer has sunk to 27° of Fahrenheit, or 5° below freezing. They therefore need a supply of provision through the greatest part of winter.

Now, it is singular that the principal resource of the ant is the honey of another insect called the aphis, an insect which abounds on the plants that are usually found in the vicinity of ant-hills. This honey is an

* See Lectures on Zoology, &c. by W. Lawrence, F.R.S. p. 44.