viii PREFACE. 



the lengthy notes placed at the bottom of the pages to 

 which they belong. I know that it would require the learn- 

 ing of a Humboldt and the pen of a Michelet to execute in 

 a perfect manner the task I have essayed ; but, neverthe- 

 less, I have resolved to attempt it. I shall do my best to 

 attain success, and wish with all my heart that others may 

 do better. 



Whoever aspires to the title of a philosopher has, in the 

 present day, a double mission to perform to discover and 

 to popularize ; he should labor on the one hand for the ad- 

 vancement, on the other for the diffusion, of science. The 

 zoologists and botanists who shed the greatest lustre on our 

 modern epoch have shown, by the publication of their con- 

 tributions on natural history, that they appreciate this sa- 

 cred mission. I have here only imitated them in a some- 

 what more extended manner, and hope I shall be pardoned 

 for following such an example. 



It was in sight of the sea, on the magnificent beach of 

 Treport, that I wrote this book as a relaxation during a 

 vacation. 



Natural history is conveyed to the mind by a succession 

 of pictures, and I have therefore in this work endeavored 

 to represent pictorially as many objects as possible. 



The Publisher, who has shrunk from no outlay, has for 

 this purpose placed at my disposal artists of the highest 

 merit, in whose cooperation I have been very fortunate. I 

 have especially to thank M. Faguet, assistant naturalist at 



