INTRODUCTION. 
13 
formed by tbe temporary influence of the sun upon the sur¬ 
face of the arctic snows, animalcules have been found in 
a state of activity; and the ocean of those inhospitable regions 
is tenanted, not only by the whales and other monsters which 
we think of as their chief inhabitants, whose massive forms 
are only to be encountered “ few and far between,” but by 
the shoals of smaller fishes and inferior animals of various 
kinds upon which they feed, and through vast fleets of which 
the mariner sails for many miles together. 
On the other hand, even the hottest and most arid portions 
of the sandy deserts of Africa and Asia are inhabited by 
animals of various kinds, provided that vegetables can find 
sustenance there. The humble and toilsome ants make these 
their food, and become in turn the prey of the cunning ant- 
lion and of the agile lizard; and these tyrants are in their 
turn kept under by the voracity of the birds which are 
adapted to prey upon them. The waters of the tropical ocean 
never acquire any high temperature, owing to the constant 
interchange which is taking place between them and those of 
colder regions; but in the hot springs of various parts of the 
world, we have examples of the compatibility of even the 
heat of almost boiling water with the preservation of animal 
life. Thus in a hot spring at Manilla which raises the ther¬ 
mometer to 187°, and in another in Barbary whose usual tem¬ 
perature is 172°, fishes have been seen to flourish. Bishes 
have been thrown up in very hot water from the crater of a 
volcano, which, from their lively condition, was apparently 
their natural residence. Small caterpillars have been found 
in hot springs of the temperature of 205°; and small black 
beetles, which died when placed in cold water, in the hot 
sulphur baths of Albano. Intestinal worms within the body 
of a carp have been seen alive after the boiling of the fish for 
eating; and the inhabitants of some little snail-shells, which 
seemed to have been dried up within them, have been caused 
to revive by placing the shells in hot water for the purpose of 
cleaning them. 
The lofty heights of the atmosphere, and the dark and 
rayless depths of the ocean, are tenanted by animals of 
beautiful organisation and wonderful powers. Vast flights of 
butterflies, the emblems of summer and sunshine, may some¬ 
times be seen above the highest peaks of the Alps, almost 
