of certain Birds of Cuba. 43 



Beaver. Birds make nests ; and the Glires are the only quadru- 

 peds that do the same. But relations of this last kind depend- 

 ing upon economy are to be suspected ; and therefore I would 

 lay more stress on those of structure which, — the sternal crista 

 of Bats being excepted, — are all in favour of the greatest ap- 

 proach to Birds being made by the Glires. Hydrochcerus and 

 Struthio are similarly situated with respect to the disappearance 

 of toes. Of Birds, the Rasores exhibit the most beautiful de- 

 velopments of tail ; and of Mammalia, the Glires, among which, 

 — as was before alluded to, — the Squirrel is furnished with 

 distichous hairs constructed like feathers. There can be little 

 doubt of the family of Stricthio?iida containing those Birds 

 which make the nearest approach to Mammalia*. This is a 

 point, indeed, which we may consider as proved by Buffon and 

 Hermann. So that, if the order of Glires makes the nearest 

 approach to Birds, and the order Kasores makes the nearest 

 approach to Mammalia, we can imagine the future occurrence 

 of some animal that will render this connexion complete. 



The Society will, I trust, excuse this long digression, not 

 merely as an inquiry connected with the accuracy of Mr. Vi- 

 gors's paper, but also with what is usually reckoned the most 

 interesting branch of Natural History. I believe that I have 

 not stated one relation of affinity or analogy without giving my 

 authority for it. If such relations, when thus all presented to 

 the view, agree most harmoniously with what has been observed 

 in other branches of nature, we scarcely ought to be sixrprised ; 

 for we have too long and too eagerly scrutinized Nature, not to 

 be convinced that the grand work of creation, so far from having 

 been, as some fancy, in its origin a mass of confusion, even still 



* " Grandissimi et pen^ bestiarum generis Struthio cameli Africi vel ^thiopici." 

 Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. x. 1. 



G 2 presents 



