120 GEOGRAPHY OF ANIMALS IN SOUTH DEVON. 



putris, without referring to gutters, and watercourses. 

 To place this argument still more clearly before the 

 reader, it is sufficient to observe, that the habitats 

 of many of our native animals, are exclusively of 

 human origin. As though these animals had origin- 

 ated with the construction of these abodes, or as 

 though they had languished in other situations till 

 their destined habitations were devised : no other 

 haunts give birth to them at this lime, or at so 

 sparing a rate as to have eluded yet the naturalist's 

 penetrating eye. There are also some animals which 

 seem to live equally well in natural and artificial 

 habitats, or which attain to greater size, and perfec- 

 tion in the former than in the latter. 



We have been led very gradually and naturally, 

 to the consideration of the last of those physical 

 conditions influencing the distribution of our native 

 animals — food. In the foregoing remarks we have 

 casually noticed the reasons of our possessing so 

 extensive a list of animals ; we have also alluded to 

 the laws of dependance by which it appears that the 

 vegetable world is the grand pabulum of very many 

 creatures, whilst these in turn become the pabulum 

 of carnivorous animals. The intentions of nature 

 would be utterly frustrated, were there to be wanting 

 a link in this chain of dependance. There is no such 

 thing as an independent existence. The higher, and 

 the lower classes of animals, aie in mutual connection 

 so far as the grand scheme of an equilibrium is con- 

 cerned. If the latter serve as food to the former, 

 the former return an equal service, by their restraint 

 on an otherwise indefinite multiplication ; and this 

 is only one way of viewing the subject: we only 

 intend here to argue that, having shewn our natural 

 eligibility, and unrivalled qualifications, for the main- 

 tenance of a fauna generally, and having also shewn 

 that, by the decree of nature, one portion of a fauna 

 implies necessarily another ; the subject of food of 

 animals rests almost wholely with an enquiry into 

 the botanical features of the county. It appears by 



