INTRODUCTION. 5 



country to another, their relation to climate, their being do- 

 mestic plants following man, their being social (growing in 

 masses) or solitary, their being abundant or rare, their na- 

 tural modes of propagation, their natural enemies or friends 

 whether among other plants or among animals, their history 

 with regard to man, and their properties, uses, and culture. 



A mere general lover of plants, therefore, who knows no 

 more of them, in a strictly botanical sense, than their names, 

 may add greatly to the pleasure which he derives from this 

 taste, by simply acquiring something of that knowledge 

 which may be called the biography of plants. It must be 

 evident that cultivators, by adding to their stock of this de- 

 scription of knowledge, would not merely add greatly to their 

 enjoyments, but would also contribute to their professional 

 improvement, would add to their power as well as to their 

 pleasure. 



Those of us who know nothing of scientific zoology, 

 still derive much pleasure from observing the great variety of 

 forms, habits, and powers of the animal kingdom ; and nothing 

 is more common than for man to form attachments to parti- 

 cular animals. We transfer the human virtues to some of 

 the nobler quadrupeds, and admire the courage of the horse, 

 the sagacity of the dog, the docility of the ox, the patience 

 of the ass, and the observant mimic powers of the monkey 

 tribe ; we are delighted with the singing of birds, instructed 

 by the industry of the bee or ant, pleased with the gaiety of 

 the butterfly, and amused or aimoyed by various other insects 

 or reptiles. But what is this interest in animated nature 

 compared with the enjoyments of a scientific zoologist ? The 

 man who can trace the powers of the Author of nature, ex- 

 erted in various degrees and for various purposes, through 

 all the different orders of animated nature, from the most 

 minute insect or obscure moUusca, endowed with unerring 

 instinct, up to the intellectual powers of rational man, and who 

 knows scientifically that man is the most perfectly formed of all 

 animals, lives in a different world from the mere general 

 observer, and enjoys that more exalted pleasure which can 

 be given by scientific knowledge only. 



Nor need the young student, who aspires to become a 

 zoologist, be discouraged from attempting to obtain his share 

 of the superior delight scientific knowledge can afford, by the 

 obstacles that apparently oppose the acquirement. Every 

 step in the pursuit produces a reward and a gratification, in 

 exact proportion to its difficulty ; and every advantage thus 

 gained becomes a fresh inducement to proceed. The geo- 

 graphical distribution of the various animated beings which 



B 2 



