the Animal Kingdom. 347 



The whole figure represents the development of the entire Animal King- 

 dom.* 



Any one of the primary divisions may rudely illustrate the development 

 of a single organism, viz 



Explanation to be read from below upwards. 



9. The Individual character in its most special form. 



8. The Sexual character obvious, but the Individual character obscure. 



7. The Variety obvious, but Sexual difference scarcely apparent. 



6. The Species manifest, but the Variety unpronounced. 



5. The Genus obvious, but not the Species. 



4. The Family manifest, but the Genus not known. 



3. The Order obvious, but not the Family. 



2, The Class manifest, but the Order not distinguishable. 



1. No appreciable difference in the Germs of all animals (Fundamental 

 Unity ?) 



This illustration is but a coarse one, since it does not shew the particular 

 direction, proper to the development of each individual germ. 



It is not unusual, however, to hear of the " higher" animals 

 repeating or passing through in their development, the struc- 

 ture of the " lower :" and though this is said in reference, of 

 course, to no more than single organs, it is a mode of speaking 

 calculated to mislead. 



Such expressions might not be improper, did there exist in the 

 animal kingdom a scale of structure differing in degree alone. 

 But there is no such scale. We must " distinguish between the 

 degree of elaboration and the type of structure."-)- Each class, 

 order, family, genus, species, and variety of animals, each sex 

 and each individual, has a structure peculiar to itself; nay, 

 every organ also, must, from the first, be constituted with refer- 

 ence to the most special structure it is destined to attain. " The 

 Blastema (germ) of the new being, must be already peculiarly 

 organized, to produce, under requisite, favouring circumstances, 

 this or that individual. A formless material, as the foundation of, 

 and susceptible of constituting, any individuality you please, is 



* The lower dotted branches, indicate directions for the development of Birds 

 and Reptiles ; the following out of which, would have rendered the diagram 

 complicated and obscure. 



To avoid complication, only binary divisions have been used, but dotted 

 branches (the upper ones) are introduced, to shew that all the remote divisions 

 admit of such addition, except those that indicate the development of sex. 



The distance between the root and the extremities of the last twigs, shews 

 the degree of aggregate elaboration or development. 



t Von Bar. 



