88 



years' diligent atlenticm to the subject, I know will rcpa_y his 

 labour in tlicir cultivation. 



Oi' these lew, and of these only, I shall proceed to detail 

 the Natckal Histoiiv, the Qi'amtiks, the IIaiuts, and 

 the UsKs; previously taking the liberty to make sornie general 

 observations on the subject. 



In studying the oeconomy of Nature in her three separate 

 kingdoms, the animal, vegetable, and mineral, ac- 

 cordin<r to the distribution of Aristotle, we find her 

 principle of arrangement perpetually counteracted by Man, 

 Avho cannot, in any one of these kingdoms, avail himself 

 of her bounty without exerting himself to undo what she has 

 done. 



Tlic principle of Nature seems to be, to mix every thing; 

 Avhile Man, before he can use, must separate. 



In the mineral kingdom, we scarcely know a distinct ho- 

 mogeneous material : every thing is a compound, and should 

 the metals be quoted as exceptions, yet we rarely find even 

 these in their distinct metallic form. 



Hence the necessity for chemical ingenuity. Man wishes 

 to make his use of the component parts separately, and the 

 chemist, by his a7ialysis, reduces the mass into its constituent 

 elements. 



In the animal kingdom, Nature throws all her subjects to- 

 gether indiscriminately, notwithstanding obvious incompatibi- 

 lities; yet still, when left to herself, preserving all her species ; 

 compensating weakness and inability to resist, by facilitating 



means 



