140 Notice of British Naturalists. 



The " Scotia Illustrated," although the labor of twenty years, 

 manifests but a small acquaintance with the natural arrangement 

 of the subject ; and it contains many of the errors of system of the 

 older writers. Each general term is not only strictly defined, but 

 each genus and order are traced back to their original cause. 

 Thus we find one chapter, to introduce an account of the Scotch 

 rivers and brooks, headed, « De aqua dulci"—'' On Fresh Wa- 

 ter;' and informing us that " the necessity for fresh water is very 

 great, that both men and wild beasts, and even plants themselves, 

 may drink thereof and be irrigated." Another, the first chapter 

 on animals, is headed, "Z?e homimim dignitate et prcEstantia;' 

 and includes an account of the creation of man, and his superior 

 worth and dignity in comparison with the inferior orders. 



But Sibbald was not only a naturalist, he was a physician 

 by profession ; and it was not to be expected that he would 

 omit all mention of a subject to which he had dedicated his life. 

 At that time there was scarcely any ^production of the earth, 

 the an-, or the water, which was not pressed into service. In this 

 respect, and in this department, we are perhaps more deeply 

 indebted to the new and enlightend laws of science, than in any 

 others whatever. 



Absurd and ridiculous remedies were still in vogue in the time 

 of Sibbald. In one instance, he recommends the foam of a horse, 

 taken fresh from its mouth, and mixed with oil of roses, as a cure 

 for the ear ache. In another, the liver of a mad dog eaten cooked, 

 as a preservative against the fear of water. Again he prescribes 

 the skm of a mad dog in the same rabid state, prepared with galls 



and 



We 



niich 



to this work ; and it is not only an instance, how little can either 



fixed 



errors into which any one must fall, who for himself neglects to 



It is interesting to observe 



upon 



the then medical condition of Scotland, when iso few appeared 

 to see for themselves whatever is either beautiful or excellent 



from 



experiments and remarks. He 



a inore general attention to any given subject, has opened the way 



to improvement. 



men 



some 



will both reason correctly, and strike out new ideas. The great 



