2 INTRODUCTION. 



vidual adaptations, or our admiration on becoming 

 acquainted with them, that we know, a priori, this 

 universal truth, that all the constituents of every 

 organised body, be that organisation what it may, are 

 invariably adapted, in the most perfect manner, to each 

 other, and to the whole. 



It is by a knowledge of this exact harmony in the 

 animal economy, that the comparative anatomist can 

 determine, with almost unerring precision, the genus, 

 or even species of an animal, by an examination of any 

 important part of its organisation, as the teeth, stomach, 

 bones, or extremities. In some cases, a single bone, 

 or even the fragment of a bone, is sufficient to convey 

 an idea of the entire animal to which it belonged. 



In illustration of this : if the viscera of an animal 

 are so organised as only to be fitted for the digestion 

 of recent flesh, we find that the jaws are so contracted 

 as to fit them for devouring prey ; the claws for seizing 

 and tearing it to pieces; the teeth for cutting and 

 dividing its flesh; the entire system of the limbs, or 

 organs of motion, for pursuing and overtaking it ; and 

 the organs of sense for discovering it at a distance. 

 Moreover, the brain of the animal is also endowed with 

 instincts sufficient for concealing itself, and for laying 

 plans to catch its necessary prey. 



Again, we are well aware that all hoofed animals 

 must necessarily be herbivorous, or vegetable feeders, 

 because they are possessed of no means of seizing prey. 

 It is also evident, having no other use for their fore- 

 legs than to support their bodies, that they have no 



