^38 TRANSACTIOXS OF THE [nOV. 16, 



iiuk'bted for the first account of the natural history of tropical 

 America. In Marcgrave's and Boutin's we have the first exam- 

 ples of local fauiice, or natural history of particular regions. 



On glancing at the progress of zoology so far, we see that a 

 large i)roportion of the magnificent volumes on zoological learn- 

 ing are little better than compilations, adding little of original 

 matter, and perpetuating the mass of absurdities and fiction so 

 freely accumulated and distributed by Pliny and his contempo- 

 raries, and even some credulous writers that followed them. 

 There was in those times so much difference between the man of 

 science and the mass of people, that there was a tendency of the 

 former to magnify and mystify their works, not only in the 

 quantity and quality of text, but by size of tyi)e, extravagant 

 initial letters, and magnificent title pages. 



England soon followed the example of the Continent. In 

 1607, the "Pinax" of Dr. Merret appeai'ed, ])resonting the first 

 treatise on the animals and plants of Great Britain. The work 

 is not of much value. Entomology was now making slow pro- 

 gress in England, while certain new experiments were being 

 made on the Continent. Goedartius and liedi undertook the 

 examination of the metamorphosis of insects, and also their vital 

 functions. 



Tlius, it is thought, they then established the methods of 

 zoological analysis. Goedart's little volume, published in 1662, 

 exhibits a decided improvement in the entomology of the seven- 

 teenth century. The numerous copper plates were faithfully 

 executed, representing the larvfe, pu])£e, and ]ierfect forms of a 

 large number of lepidoptera. Many species of other orders were 

 illustrated, and stand to this day worthy objects of study and 

 reference. Thiory came upon the stage just now with superior 

 Avork. Swammerdam, who died at an early age, has left us an 

 amount of anatomical lore that stands to-day of equal value to 

 any now extant. All the great truths about the transformation 

 of insects originated with him. Lyonnet, Reaumur, and Bonnet 

 were his disciples, subsequently pursuing his well-beaten i)ath in 

 entomological investigation. 



Swammerdam is noted as the " Father of Analysis," as is 

 Aristotle of " Philoso])hic Generalizations." 



The appearance of Kay is regarded by some as coincident with 

 a new era of zoological learning, but others think that his 

 work has less significance than that of Swammerdam, who 

 brought to science a lai-ge amount of original observation 

 and research. But for Buerhaave this learning»of Swammer- 

 dam would have been, i)erliaps, lost to the world. In 1738, 

 the latter's works were published under the charge of Boerhaave, 



